Peter Wright insists he is “ready” to be world champion and put his poor record in finals behind him by shocking Michael van Gerwen in Wednesday’s PDC world championship final.

The 49-year-old won a bad-tempered semi-final against Gerwyn Price but knows he will have to raise his game against the defending champion and world No 1, who has cruised to the final without finding his best form so far.

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“I want to play the best player in the world, the No 1, the guy who wins all the titles – or the titles I have given him,” Wright said to Sky Sports. “But he will be playing a different Wrighty tomorrow, and this Wrighty will be up for MvG.”

“I have not been in the final since 2014,” said Wright, who lost that final to Van Gerwen 7-4. “I was not ready to be world champion then, he deserved to be world champion and has done a fantastic job being the world champion.”

“But this time, I think I am ready; I know I am ready. I have learned a lot in all of those years, have matured more. I have learned from mistakes, and MvG will be playing a new Wrighty, not the old Wrighty ... it is my time, that is why I am here.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Michael van Gerwen beat Peter Wright in the 2014 final to win his first world championship. Photograph: Clive Gee/PA

Van Gerwen is targeting a fourth world crown after beating Nathan Aspinall 6-3 in his semi-final, and sought to remind Wright of their head-to-head record. The Dutchman has won 59 of their meetings, compared to Wright’s 17.

The Suffolk-based player who represents Scotland, where he was born, has lost 10 out of the 11 major finals he has played – with seven of those defeats coming against Van Gerwen. Wright has lost Premier League and Champions League finals to Van Gerwen after missing match darts.

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“Most of the time when he [Wright] plays me, he sort of blows it up, misses darts at doubles. That is a good thing for myself,” Van Gerwen said. “He has to do better if he wants to beat me, he knows that.”

“Against me, he is not allowed to miss those doubles, so we will see what is going to happen and I need to make sure I play a bit better than him. Until the semi-final, I had a higher tournament average than he did, and everyone is saying he is playing quite well, so that must say what my standard is.”

Van Gerwen added that Wright is “playing really well” at Alexandra Palace and that his opponent is due a landmark win – “but it won’t be this week, that’s for sure.”