Peter Wright might make his Ally Pally entrance wearing a Santa hat but plans to begin the New Year by being crowned William Hill World Darts Champion for the second time.
The Snakebite pre-Christmas costume has become something of a tradition and the 2020 king of the palace is determined to put on a show in more ways than one at this year’s tournament.
Wright has endeared himself to darts fans around the world during his emergence as an elite player over the last decade, both for his incredible ability and his entertaining manner – which he has no plans to tone down.
“Darts is a show as well as a professional sport,” said Wright, who also reached the final in 2014.
“You can have fun as well and that's hopefully what I bring across to the crowd, TV and kids watching who want to be dart players.
“Yes, you could say it looks a bit silly for the reigning World Champion to be dressed as the Grinch, but I wanted to put a smile on peoples’ faces during a tough time for everyone and I think we achieved that.
“The crowd get dressed up for Ally Pally, so why can’t I? It’s going to be hard to top it this year, but we will try!”
Wright gets his campaign underway against Ryan Meikle on Friday evening after the talented Suffolk thrower overcome 16-year-old debutant Fabian Schmutzler in round one.
And the world number two knows that his opening opponent is more than capable of being a party pooper and scuppering the Scotsman’s title tilt.
“Ryan is playing really good darts at the moment,” he added.
“He’s hit some big averages both on the floor and on TV. He’s a really dangerous opponent and the younger players don’t care who they play so I will have to be on my game to beat him.”
The tournament will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and RTL7, and on PDCTV (excluding UK and Netherlands based subscribers).
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Joe Murnan v Paul Lim (R1)
William Borland v Bradley Brooks (R1)
Ross Smith v Jeff Smith (R1)
Peter Wright v Ryan Meikle (R2)
Best of five sets (no tie-breaks in round one matches)