Bird of Paradise Peter Wright
German debutant wants to spoil “Grinch” Christmas
Updated 12/23/2025 – 2:03 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Arno Merk will meet one of the most colorful guys at the Darts World Cup this Tuesday. Peter Wright is a completely different person outside of sport.
When Arno Merk fights for his ticket to the third round of the Darts World Cup this Tuesday afternoon, he will enter the race as a blatant outsider. Because he meets two-time world champion Peter Wright. Although “Snakebite”, as Wright is also called, is only number 30 in the world, experience also plays an important role at the Darts World Cup.
Merk, the 163rd in the world, has comparatively little of that. For the German, it is the first World Cup participation in his darts career. And with Wright, a real bird of paradise awaits, who is one of the best players in recent history.
Elmar Paulke revealed in a t-online interview a few years ago that it didn’t look like a global career for the 55-year-old eleven years ago. “Peter Wright thought in 2014 that the World Cup would be his last tournament, then suddenly he made it to the final and had enough money to continue his career,” said the darts expert
Wright had to fight through it again and again. In 2017, illness almost stopped him. At the end of November, Wright underwent treatment for gallstones and his participation was in jeopardy for a long time.
But the treatment, including a change in diet, got him fit to start in time. With 14 kilograms less on his ribs, he won his opening duel against Diego Portela 3-1, but then surprisingly had to return home in the second round. A bitter setback for Wright, who fought back and won the first of his two world titles two years later.
Peter Wright always comes up with a colorful hairstyle for the Darts World Cup. This year he comes with green hair and a green beard as the Grinch.
His wife Joanne is responsible for Wright’s hairstyles. “The costume was his wife’s idea, who said, ‘Make your hair colorful and dress in crazy clothes.’ He’s been playing much better since then,” explained Elmar Paulke.
But Peter Wright isn’t as freaked out as he looks. “When he plays darts, he slips into a role,” says Paulke. “Wright lives in seclusion in the country, doesn’t have a driver’s license and is anything but the party horse he embodies on stage.”
In order for the party stallion to be able to take part in the World Cup after Christmas, he has to get Arno Merk out of the way. Will the “Grinch” manage to have a contemplative celebration?