PETER WRIGHT defied illness to advance to the last 16 after a world championship masterclass.
The two-time champion dominated Jermaine ‘Machine Gun’ Wattimena 4-2 at the Ally Pally last night.
It was a nightmarish preparation for the clash for the two Snakebite players suffering from a lung infection.
Meanwhile, Wattimena cut her finger while carving ham on Christmas Day and needed stitches in hospital.
But in the end, it was the Scot who was more accurate when it really mattered.
Wright didn’t do his dance on stage because of disease and struggled to speak during the post-match interview.
But he said: “I think Jermaine felt sorry for me. But it didn’t affect my darts. I held my breath.
“Not bad for an old guy, it’s a question of experience. I hope I feel better for the following and.
“Since I left Ally Pally before Christmas, I’ve been in bed for about three days. I didn’t have much practice.
“It was not ideal preparation. It’s a totally different game on this stage. This gets you playing on the Ally Pally stage.
In truth, it was Wright’s best performance since winning the Ally Pally title three years ago.
Despite repeated coughing, Wright didn’t choke on the board with an excellent first set, winning it with a cool 88 finish.
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Wrighty then doubled his lead with a double eight as the big Dutchman struggled at his checkouts.
Wattimena then woke up with a superb finish of 144 to score a backhand, tough shot with Wright on a finish to make it three sets.
But Snakey restored his lead in straight sets with a magnificent bull finalizing 87. However, Wattimena was not finished and fought back to win the next set with highs.
However, the Scot completed a magnificent performance with a quality 68 finish.
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