Gerwyn Price says he has a new lease of life (Image: Getty)
Gerwyn Price is feeling the love again. A poor 2024, by his standards, could have sapped his seemingly dwindling passion for darts. Instead, it has rekindled it.
Over the last couple of years, the Iceman has given off the impression he is ready to pack in after negative public statements and social media rants. At one point last year, he even suggested that he would turn down a invitation if offered. However, a spell of inactivity during the business end of 2024 made him realise what he has and what he can still offer the game.
“Having a couple of weeks off, missing the Grand Slam [after failing to qualify] and going out early in the Players Championship… I get bored really easily and I didn’t really have anything to do,” admits who will face a qualifier in the first round of the revamped World Masters on Thursday night.
“It put things into perspective for me. If I’m not playing darts, then I have nothing else to do. I missed it.
“I love playing in the Grand Slam, and I’ve won it a few [three] times. It was difficult missing that one. It gave me a reset and made me look forward to playing again.
“I just want to enjoy darts again. I think I played a little bit too much and got down on myself. But missing those couple of weeks gave me a spark back, and that’s all I needed, I think.”
Price had begun to change his tune about the , a competition he has criticised on several occasions, prior to the So when the call came from PDC chief executive Matt Porter in early January, it was gratefully accepted.
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“I didn’t know [if he would be in],” he admits. “So many people have been playing really well over the last year. A couple of people have picked up majors, so I never really knew.
“I knew an hour before it came on Sky. This year, I had a message come through from Matt Porter, which I thought was going to be a message saying I wasn’t in. But it said, ‘congratulations’ and that I was in, so I was happy.”
Price remains lukewarm about the format, which sees a mini-knockout tournament for 16 weeks before the play-off night at The O2 at the end of May.
“It is what it is,” he says. “I just need to be a bit more positive week after week, whether results are going my way or not. We play this format every week and I’m going to give it my best.”
Gerwyn Price has been critical of the Premier League format but has vowed to be more positive (Image: Getty)
Price’s run to the last eight at Ally Pally, which included a nail-biting win over Joe Cullen and victory over fellow Welshman Jonny Clayton, will have aided his cause after other candidates, like Damon Heta and Mike De Decker, suffered early exits.
However, after losing to Chris Dobey in the last eight, there was a feeling of what could have been. He says: “I was disappointed because my preparation beforehand, the three or four weeks leading up to it, I thought my game was in a really good place.
“I was playing really well in exhibitions. I changed the points in my darts and was feeling a bit more comfortable.
Gerwyn Price responded to fans’ abuse by donning headphones for a set at the 2023 World Championship (Image: Getty)
“I was playing really well in every game but then slipped off and let people come back at me and started missing doubles. I gifted a win to Chris Dobey. I let Joe Cullen back in, let Jonny Clayton back in.
“If I could have been a little more ruthless and kept my foot on the gas, I probably would have got to the final, and I think I could have won it.”
Price is also feeling the love from fans again. Two years after his headphone-wearing stunt against Gabriel Clemens at the World Championship, which saw him blast the Ally Pally crowd and even call for the tournament to be moved away from the venue, he reports: “It was really good. The fans seem to be backing me now. It wasn’t as hostile as it was in previous years. They really pushed me.”
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