PETER WRIGHT is aiming to kick-start his season at the Shanghai Darts Masters this weekend as he revives memories of one of his finest hours on the oche.
The inaugural tournament in Shanghai will be followed in a fortnight by the Tokyo Darts Masters as the PDC World Series of Darts visits Asia.
Wright was last year's runner-up in Japan as he went down narrowly to Phil Taylor in a deciding leg in Yokohama, but the tournament was equally memorable for the incredible reception the tearful Scot received after he took out 141 to win his semi-final tie with Michael van Gerwen.
Wright prepared for the start of the Shanghai Darts Masters with a visit to the Chinese Qualifier on Friday, before being drawn against Hong Kong's Ting Chi Royden Lam for the first round.
"I've been lucky enough to go down and see the qualifiers and they made very welcome there, bringing back memories of last year in Japan," said Wright. "They were all happy to see me and I had lots of pictures taken and lots of autographs.
"Japan was great - everything went to plan and then, after the amazing reception I got at the end of the semi-final against Michael, I forgot about the plan in the final against Phil, and it was too late by the time I got to the last leg.
"Hopefully I can do better this time. It's been quiet recently but hopefully I can do well here to kick-start the year."
Wright has only previously faced Lam once, in a UK Open Qualifier in 2013, but has been impressed with the distinctive Hong Kong ace, who was the first Asian player to win a PDC Tour Card in 2013.
"He's a cool looking dude!" joked Wright. "He's got amazing shirts, an amazing hairdo and I think the longest points I've seen, longer than Justin Pipe!
"But he's a great dart player. He's obviously played on the PDC circuit and he's very good, so it's a very tough match. I've played him once, I think, and if I recall he pushed me hard. He's very good."
After being defeated in the quarter-finals of both PDC World Series of Darts events in Dubai and Auckland so far this year, Wright has been working hard on the practice board since landing in Shanghai to perfect a different set-up going into this weekend's event.
"I've been working on a new throw that's quite deliberate," he said. "I managed to find a heavier dart in my one of my bags, and I cut out a set of flights to us.
"The 22 gram darts I used last week didn't work under pressure when I needed them to, so I know they weren't correct.
"I've used the lighter ones in other competitions but these 24 gram ones worked in Dubai and I wanted to use the heavier ones in the more humid atmosphere here - but my throw's changed slightly trying to stack them and land them flatter."