PETER WRIGHT is hoping to follow his success in reaching the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters final by helping Scotland to glory in the bwin World Cup of Darts.
Wright was defeated by Michael van Gerwen in last Friday's final of the World Series of Darts event in Dubai, having defeated Phil Taylor and Dave Chisnall on his way to the decider.
The West Lothian-born ace's rise to fifth in the PDC Order of Merit has seen him receive his second call-up to represent Scotland in the PDC's World Cup of Darts, having partnered Gary Anderson in 2012.
He will this time play alongside former UK Open champion Thornton in Hamburg, and is hoping to continue his form whilst representing his country, with their campaign beginning against Russia on Friday night.
"The experience of playing in Dubai will stand me in good stead this week," said Wright. "It was fantastic, an amazing venue and an amazing place.
"I struggled with my consistency a bit; I'd hit one good score, two bad scores and then have shots at big finishes, but I reached the final and gave Michael a game.
"Last week will give me loads of confidence for the World Cup. I'm playing with Robert Thornton and really looking forward to it."
Thornton is making his third World Cup appearance but his first alongside Wright - and is hoping that the duo can enjoy Scotland's best-ever campaign, having been knocked out in the last 16 for the past two years after a group stage exit in the last eight of the 2010 event.
"We are stepping into the unknown," Thornton told the Scottish Sun. "The only thing I'm aware of with the Russians are their names, but that's what the World Cup is all about and I'm really looking forward to it.
"This time I hope that Wrighty and I can live up to our seeding. It's hard to explain why it hasn’t happened for Scotland so far.
"I think it just comes down to having a really good performance early in the tournament and to feed that confidence off each other.
"I don’t even think England have looked that comfortable. Phil Taylor and James Wade went out early the first year and not even Phil and Adrian have looked totally happy together at times.
"Yet for some teams like Australia, Spain and Belguim it has just worked for them and they've done well. There's no exact reason or science behind it. If you enjoy it and have a laugh and start winning, it can be real fun."