A remarkable 2021 season for Peter Wright concluded after he was crowned the 2021 PDC Player of the Year.
It’s the first time that Wright has won the award.
Wright, who recently won his second World Championship, had a 2021 to remember as the flamboyant Scot also won the World Matchplay title, his first ever Players Championship, and the World Cup for Scotland alongside partner John Henderson.
Following Wright’s fantastic year, the two-time world champion also rose to second in the rankings.
He is now only ranked narrowly behind Gerwyn Price.
Wright’s efforts in 2021 saw him claim £1.19m in total prize money.
It was Wright’s World Title victory that saw him edge out Jonny Clayton to win the 2021 Player of the Year crown, and Wright expressed his delight after receiving the award.
“It feels great to win this award, it’s nice to add another trophy to the cabinet,” he said.
“Jonny Clayton had an amazing year but I think winning the two biggest ranking TV tournaments probably won me this award; thank you to the selection panel for selecting me.”
Wright’s success in 2021 has only increased his desire to build on it in 2022.
“It’s nice to get recognition for your achievements over the last year and now I want more in 2022. Phil Taylor always had that hunger to win more and a few years ago I couldn’t understand it but now I’ve got that same hunger to add as many titles to my name as I can,” he said.
If Wright is to emulate the great Phil Taylor, he will need to recover from the poor start he made in 2022.
Wright lost in the second round of The Masters to Simon Whitlock in what was a tired and lifeless effort.
The player nicknamed ‘Snakebite’ will be hoping that this form doesn’t continue and that he isn’t showing the signs of a World Championship hangover.
As well as reclaiming the world number one ranking, Wright will want to continue to make history as he prepares to compete in the 2022 Premier League – something he has never won before.
Wright’s best showing came back in 2017, when he lost a final-set thriller in the final to Michael van Gerwen.
In an interesting twist of fate, Wright will kick off his 2022 campaign against Michael Smith, the man he beat in the final of the World Championship.
The 2021 PDC Awards saw Jonny Clayton claim two awards, the Players’ Player of the Year and the Fans’ Player of the Year.
World number one Gerwyn Price was named the ProTour Player of the Year, while there were also wins for Alan Soutar and Rusty-Jake Rodriguez, who won the Best Newcomer and Young Player of the Year awards, respectively.
