MICHAEL VAN GERWEN admits he is surprised to be taking on Peter Wright in the PDC World Championship final today.

The Dutchman, who finished last year’s tournament as runner-up to Phil Taylor, goes into the New Year’s Day clash at Alexandra Palace as heavy favourite following a 6-0 thrashing of Adrian Lewis in the semi-finals.

But Wright, who has been the surprise package of the competition, currently holds the highest three-dart average, and Van Gerwen knows he is unlikely to have things all his own way against the colourful Scot.

“Peter is having a fantastic tournament,” said Van Gerwen. “He’s playing well, and has played well all year. I need to watch out for him, he can do strange things and I need to prepare very well.

“I never expected to be playing Peter Wright in the final, but I think he deserves to be there.

“Of course, when you are favourite there is always pressure on you. Against Adrian Lewis, the pressure was on my shoulders as well, but it didn’t affect my game at all.

“I’ve got a day off and then we’ll see how my form is for the final. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Wright, meanwhile, has revealed his method for dealing with the pressures of playing in the latter stages of the World Championship.

“I’ve been going on stage pretending it’s a first-round match,” he said. “I’m not trying to make myself nervous by thinking it’s the quarter-final or semi-final, so I’m just preparing as I would for a first-round match every match.

“I’ve got a lot more experience on the circuit this year, and I’ll be better prepared to play Michael in the final. I’ll give him a better game and I’m going to push him all the way.

“I’ll just play my own game and make sure I don’t go out of my rhythm. I don’t want to be dragged into his speed or my darts might go everywhere.”

This LeBron James full-court tap pass is pretty class

Ronan O’Gara was approached for head coaching job in France