PETER WRIGHT may not be a well-known face to many darts fans, but he intends to make a big impression at the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic.
Nicknamed "Snakebite", Wright's selection of multi-coloured shirts is bettered by his bright dyed hair.
Sporting different combination of colours for each event, Wright displayed pink and orange streaks in his hair in qualifying on Sunday, although it was his darts that did the talking at the Mandalay Bay Resort.
He dropped only three legs in wins over Morihiro Hashimoto, James Stephenson, Jan van der Rassel and John Quantock to reach the deciding game, where he overcame Andy Smith 5-3.
"I was really happy to have qualified but it was a reflection of how I've been playing all year," he said.
"When I beat Jan van der Rassel, I didn't realise how well I played until people said to me afterwards that I hardly missed a treble.
"I beat Andy Smith in Las Vegas last year so I wasn't too worried about him - it was more about controlling the shakes in my hand because I was so nervous.
"It was very, very good. It ranks as the second-best day of my career, behind qualifying for the Embassy Championship back in 1995.
"It was my target this year to qualify for a televised event so it's really good to have done it - I was nearly in tears but I held myself together!"
Wright played eventual champion Richie Burnett in the 1995 Embassy Championship, and also qualified for the 2005 UK Open.
Having taken the sport more seriously in the past year, he returned to Bolton earlier in June and reached round three before losing to Mark Webster.
His consistency on the circuit has also taken him from 170th at the turn of the year to 86th heading to the Las Vegas.
"I had a bad year last year and kept changing my darts every few weeks," said Wright. "I've been using my current set for about three months now and they're going well.
"I'm showing everyone how I can play now and I'm not scared of anybody - even Phil Taylor or Raymond van Barneveld.
"I'd like to stay away from Phil in the draw if I'm honest, and Mark Walsh and Colin Osborne too because they're playing really well at the moment.
"It will be a bit nerve-wracking on stage but I'm really looking forward to it."
Being based in Lowestoft, Suffolk, has enabled Wright to travel on the circuit with Norfolk-based world number six Mervyn King.
"We're going to start practising together more now," added Wright. "Ten years ago we'd do ten hours a day and we're going to get back to that when we get back from Las Vegas, probably playing 100 legs a day.
"We've not been playing games as such recently, more just practising on our finishing.
"So you'll have to watch out for Mervyn, and hopefully I can shoot up the rankings and do some damage."