Coverage underway on Sky Sports Action and Main Event from 8pm
Saturday 6 October 2018 20:41, UK
It has been abundantly clear all week at the World Grand Prix that Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright both feel they can win the tournament.
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Gary Anderson has picked up the majority of big TV crowns this year, but MvG has 17 titles and Wright has three and five finals this season, along with a host of semi-final appearances. The top two in the world rankings have earned the right to expect success.
The pair have history, too. Wright feels his has MVG's number, but Mighyt Mike can point to a dominant record in the head-to-head (52-15).
With all manner of sub-plots, we take a look ahead to the final.
Anderson's sweep of the UK Open, the Matchplay and the Champions League stirred some debate about who is the best player in the world and it appears to have irked Van Gerwen.
He has played brilliantly all week as shown by a tournament average pushing 100.
With the Grand Prix kicking off a run of tournaments that includes the Grand Slam, the European Championship, the World Series and the Players Championship Finals - it's no surprise to see Van Gerwen kicking into gear.
Whether he says so or not, the World Championships are beginning to loom large and title number three must be on his mind.
World Grand Prix - results, draw & schedule
That is not to hand the title to MvG. Snakebite has been telling everyone he has the secret to beating Van Gerwen on TV.
Maybe there is a magic formula, maybe Snakey is indulging in the mind games that saw him declare earlier in the week that he would be waiting in the final - but Wright has a lot going for him against Van Gerwen.
Snakebite's level rarely dips and he is usually there or thereabouts in most legs of most of his matches so when Van Gerwen has his lulls, Wright is usually well-placed to pick off legs.
They have played nine times this year and Wright has won the last two, including the Champions League semi-final, which featured a stirring comeback. Wright also picked off Van Gerwen twice in the regular Premier League season, but it was the Dutchman who went on to claim the title.
The time is Wright for Snakebite
For all his consistency, it remains a surprise that last year's UK Open is Wright's biggest career title and only major. He is determined to add to his abundance of Euro and Pro Tour crowns - 14 coming over the last three years.
Ominously for Saturday night, it has been in the 'majors' that he has faltered. With the biggest prize in sight, Snakebite has faltered with seven defeats in major finals - five of them to Van Gerwen.
The scars are there, despite his recent successes, as Van Gerwen has beaten Snakebite in the finals of the World Championship, the UK Open (twice), the Premier League and the Grand Slam - the remarkable Premier League final of 2017 stands out.
Van Gerwen, who trailed 5-1, 7-2 and 10-8 at The O2, took advantage of six missed match darts from Snakebite who looked a broken man at the end of the evening.
Defeats to Gary Anderson and Phil Taylor in major finals, as well as MVG, carries little shame but Wright is going to have to overcome final night phobia if he is to lift another big trophy.
Whether it's the time of the year, the format or the venue, Van Gerwen enjoys the Dublin tournament and his three titles in the tournament are second only to Phil Taylor's astonishing 11.
Dublin will forever remain significant to Van Gerwen as the place he claimed his first major title, unseeded he roared through the field as a 23-year-old to beat Mervyn King and set sail on the path of dominance that has followed not just in Dublin but the world of darts.
It's his fifth final in the last seven years at the Citywest, and Wright will be the fifth different opponent he has faced.
Only Robert Thornton has emerged victorious from finals as Anderson and James Wade have joined King in falling to MvG - Wright now has his chance to get one over on the darling of Dublin but it won't be easy.
Coverage of the World Grand Prix continues on Saturday with the final. Join us on Sky Sports Action and Main Event from 8pm.
Darts season is in full swing and continues on Sky Sports with the Grand Slam of Darts in November and the World Championships which get underway from the iconic Alexandra Palace on December 13.
