Welshman Price wins second successive Grand Slam of Darts title

by Jamil Salih

GERWYN Price bulldozed his way to a second successive Grand Slam of Darts title, defeating Peter Wright 16-6 in the final in Wolverhampton.

Markham-born Price, nicknamed ‘The Iceman’, dispatched of world number one Michael van Gerwen in the semi-final earlier in the day, while Wright beat Glen Durrant in the first semi-final.

It was Price’s twentieth attempt at victory over van Gerwen, with the Welshman prevailing 16-12 to secure his first triumph over ‘Mighty Mike’ on his route to the final at the Aldersley Leisure Village.

Price was buoyant after knocking out the reigning world champion, and put on a showreel performance against ‘Snakebite’ Wright in the final, hitting eleven 180s and registering a 107.86 average on his way to the Grand Slam title.

It was a successful night for Price, who recorded the second-highest average in Grand Slam final history. He also moved up to third place on the PDC Order of Merit, behind only Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross, the last two men to win the PDC World Darts Championship.

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Speaking in his post-match interview, Price said: “I knew in the middle of that game that I was playing really well.

“I was hitting trebles for fun and putting Peter under pressure.

“He wasn’t playing at his best but I knew that I was at the top of my game and I felt comfortable all the way through.

“I’m chuffed to bits to win this title again and finally have the crowd cheer me this time.”

A former rugby union and rugby league player, the Markham man has polarised opinion since his transition into professional darts some four years ago.

“This week the crowd have been fantastic.

“I’m not used to this but they have truly got behind me this weekend and I truly appreciate it, they’ve pushed me on to win this.

“I’ve had a good 18 months, it doesn’t happen for me all the time but I’m just thankful to win this again and I’m chuffed to bits.”