Peter Wright almost certainly eliminated from Grand Slam of Darts in damning double defeat

Peter Wright has suffered another major setback. After two of the three group matches Peter Wright has almost certainly been eliminated from the Grand Slam of Darts. 'Snakebite' lost his second group match on Sunday afternoon.

The Scot has been in a form crisis since 2023. Wright managed to save his season last year by winning the European Championship to everyone's surprise, but that revival was not long-lived.

Wright's first half of the season was again very disappointing, with a last-place finish in the Premier League Darts for the second consecutive season and early exits at tournaments such as the World Darts Championship, UK Open and World Matchplay.

Read also

Tournament centre Grand Slam of Darts 2024: Schedule of play, all results, TV Guide and prize money breakdown

For a while after the summer, Wright seemed to have things back on track, and the two-time world champion even won a Euro Tour title. But even this revival did not last long. At the World Grand Prix and the European Championship, Wright was eliminated right away. At the European Darts Championship, moreover, Wright threw an average of just 75.

Wright already had a very poor start to the Grand Slam of Darts on Saturday by losing 5-0 to Martin Lukeman. To that was added a 5-4 defeat against Leonard Gates on Sunday afternoon.

Despite his average hovering around 80, Wright still managed to lead 3-1. Gates then came back to 3-3 with a 20-darter and an 18-darter. The American then took over the lead with another 18-darter. Wright forced a final leg by throwing out 68, but the leg-decider went to Gates via a 15-darter.

Wright then had to hope that Lukeman would win over Rob Cross to still have a minimal chance of surviving the group stage, because if Cross won, the Scot was already eliminated for good.

Although Cross managed to take a 3-0 lead early in the match, the win still surprisingly went to Lukeman 5-4. Monday night the final group matches will be played in Group C. Lukeman will meet Gates, while Cross will take on Gates. Wright's only chance to reach the knockout stage is a 5-0 win over Cross, while he must then also hope that Lukeman does his sporting duty against Gates.