Darts Star Tipped to Retire After 'Worrying' World Championship Moment
A former PDC darts champion has been tipped to retire from the sport in the near future following a difficult World Championship.
Luke Littler won his second consecutive world crown at Alexandra Palace, defeating Gian van Veen 7-1 in the final.
Van Veen had earlier secured a thrilling 7-3 semi-final over Gary Anderson, who, at 55, showed he has plenty still left in the tank.
Anderson has won the PDC World Championship on three occasions, including in back-to-back years in 2015 and 2016.
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But he is not the most recent Scotsman to win the world title, with that accolade belonging to Peter Wright.
'Snakebite', who is also 55, won the crown in 2020 and 2022 but has suffered a dramatic drop in form over recent seasons.
He defeated Noa-Lynn van Leuven 3-0 in the first round at Ally Pally, and declared that he had the game to win the entire tournament.
But he was then dumped out of the competition in the second round by Germany's Arno Merk, who won 3-0 with an average of 92.
What was more worrying for Wright, however, was the fact that he could only average 79, and missed 13 of his 15 attempts at double.
The Scot will begin 2026 ranked world number 31 on the two-year PDC Order of Merit.
Wright is not defending a significant amount of prize money over the next 12 months, meaning his position in the top 64 of the rankings will be secure heading into 2027.
But former PDC tour card holder Paul Nicholson believes that 'Snakebite' could potentially retire from the sport after this or next season.
"Peter Wright in darts is not just going to say, 'I'm done'. He's not just going to walk away because he has a genuine passion for the sport," Nicholson told Oche180 via Betway.
"But it can't be ignored that in the 2026 World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, he had his worst two averages ever in 16, 17 years."
"The one thing that worried me the most was that he was changing his darts in visits in three different legs, and three different setups on the stage," the Englishman continued.
"It means that his mind was not fully focused like it was when he was winning in 2020 and 2022.
"And to lose to Arno Merk, who played very decent darts. That's a game previously that Peter would have owned and easily won.
"I think my gut is saying that Peter Wright might very soon say, I'm going to have one more year and then I'm going to walk away.
"And if he does that, then everyone can glorify him for one more year and just enjoy one last yearly party. Because there's nothing wrong with walking away gracefully."
Fellow darts star Michael van Gerwen gave a much more blunt view on Wright's future in darts after 'Snakebite' lost to Merk at the World Championship.
Van Gerwen told reporters (via TungstenTales): "No, I'm not really surprised by his performance, because he's been playing c**p.
"I think, for him, it's time to retire anyway."
Topics: Darts, World Darts Championship
Ryan Smart