Peter Wright has no room for sentiment against his former lodger Dimitri van den Bergh at the World Matchplay on Thursday night, telling the Belgian: ‘The master will reign.’
The quarter-final meeting is a clash between the last two winners of the Matchplay and a repeat of last year’s final, which Wright won 18-9.
That 2021 final came a year after Van den Bergh had spent three months living with Wright as lockdown meant he couldn’t travel to and from his native Belgium.
As a result the pair know each other very well, although Wright reckons the Dream-maker has got even better since their time together, as shown by him winning the Nordic Darts Masters and Dutch Darts Masters this year.
Snakebite has plenty of praise for Dimitri, but finished his assessment with a warning, that he would not let his apprentice get the better of him in Blackpool.
‘He’s playing really well, he’s really confident, he’s won two big tournaments this year, full of confidence,’ said Wright after beating Krzysztof Ratajski in the second round.
‘We’ll see what happens. One of us could run away with it or it’s going to be really close, one of the two.
‘He’s changed, everyone changes. He’s learned his own routines that have helped him become a better player, which is good, it shows on TV and other tournaments.
‘I didn’t teach him everything though, the master will reign.’
Wright certainly had no problem in putting emotion aside in the final last year, averaging nearly 106 in a comfortable win.
Before that game 12 months ago, Snakebite said: ‘I’ve got respect for Dimi and how hard he works, but when we get up on stage that goes out of the window.
‘A lot of people said that he wouldn’t be able to handle Blackpool – including me – and he has, so hats off to him.
‘I’m happy to see him playing like he can and it should be a cracking final. He’s changed into a man now and learned a lot, not just from staying at mine – he already had the talent.
‘He’s got an awesome record in this event, but he’s got to play against the master now!’
Van den Bergh does have an awesome record in the tournament, only playing it twice, reaching two finals and lifting the trophy once.
His wins this year over Callan Rydz and Rowby-John Rodriguez mean he has lost just one match in the prestigious competition in 12 matches.
He must overcome the man who handed him that one defeat, though, if he wants to keep up his run this year.
The quarter-finals begin on Thursday 21 July with Wright against Van den Bergh and Michael van Gerwen meeting Nathan Aspinall.
On Friday it is an all-Dutch affair between Dirk van Duijvenbode and Danny Noppert, before Gerwyn Price plays Jose De Sousa.
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