Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen says Peter Wright should retire following his emphatic defeat in the second round of the PDC World Darts Championship.
Two-time world champion Wright won just two legs and averaged below 80 as he was surprisingly beaten by debutant Arno Merk on Tuesday.
Van Gerwen said he was “not surprised by his performance” given the Scotsman’s inconsistent recent record and added that “it’s time for him to retire anyway”.
The 36-year-old Dutchman beat William O’Connor to reach the third round at Alexandra Palace.
Wright, who became world champion in 2020 and 2022, has not made it past the quarter-finals of any televised ranking tournament in the past two years.
The 55-year-old last won a European Tour event in 2024 and a Players Championship in 2022.
Wright was not selected for the 2025 Premier League Darts season and failed to qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts for the first time since 2012.
The Dutchman’s comments follow Wright’s recent suggestion that Van Gerwen’s “vision is probably going”., external