"I'm not ruthless like Van Gerwen or Phil Taylor who just want to destroy you" - Peter Wright survives mini fightback from Michael Smith to progress at European Championship

Peter Wright recorded a resounding 10-4 victory over Michael Smith on Saturday to join the last eight at the European Darts Championship in Dortmund. 'Snakebite' even briefly led 8-0, but an ultimate humiliation was spared for Smith.

You would think Wright would have felt excellent on stage with such a run of play, but nothing could be further from the truth. ''I didn't feel comfortable throughout the whole match," he told Online Darts. ''I was lucky enough they went in and lucky enough the Michael Smith we know didn't turn up against me."

It was hard for Wright to keep his concentration as he took an 8-0 lead, knowing the finish line was close. ''I think I could have went off the stage 9-1 up but I let five or six darts at double go. So I was kicking myself and I knew he was going to come out all guns firing there but I kept focused and managed to get a few big trebles and doubles."

Nor did Wright immediately feel the need to completely dry out Smith. ''I'm not ruthless like players like MvG, he just wants to destroy you. Or Phil Taylor wants to destroy you, I think I got away with it."

The two-time world champion has had a very mediocre year, but in recent weeks Wright has been showing signs of recovery. Most recently, Wright was in the quarterfinals of the World Grand Prix, so now he is once again in the last eight. ''it's getting better isn't it. I'm getting to later bits of the tournaments and stuff like that, so I can still pay the bills,'' Wright joked.