Gerwyn Price said he was focused on “not letting his emotions out” during his fiery clash with Daryl Gurney that ended with the pair exchanging tense words and an angry handshake at the World Matchplay.
Price came through an ill-tempered contest as the 10-7 winner, with the catalyst for their friction coming in the ninth leg as Gurney became irate with Price’s big roars and reactions and began to imitate the Welshman.
From then on, Price kept his emotions under wraps until he hit the winning dart of D12 and let out a massive roar and gave a huge celebration to the crowd, a frosty conversation ensuing as the pair shared what was a very unfriendly handshake at the conclusion of their match.
It is not the first time that Gurney and Price have clashed on the big stage, the pair exchanging shoves and words back in 2019 following a Premier League encounter.
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Daryl Gurney expertly took out 150 as he closed the gap on Gerwyn Price at the World Matchplay.
“To be honest, I thought I was struggling for that game, but I came off and seen the stats and I averaged around 100 I think, which is decent,” Price said.
“I felt like I was pretty poor in our game in patches and didn’t play particularly well, and there’s a lot more in the tank.
“I just felt like I needed to keep myself composed. Sometimes I was forcing not to let my emotions get the best of me and sometimes that’s what happens and I can let out the emotions out and then the next leg is not so good, so sometimes I try and control it and I did in that game.
“I think possibly that’s what got me over the winning line is just trying to keep everything intact and then let it go at the end.
“For a lot of legs I was beating myself up, missing opportunities, I did a big score and I did absolute rubbish and just sort of kept him in the game.
“I went to the table and I felt like the 150 was going out and it did, and it just gave myself a kick up the backside as well to just break him here now and get the match done. And I did.
“I have learnt to keep my emotions intact and I think I did today in two or three legs where my head was going to blow off, but I just had to keep it in.”
Mardle: It is all childish… a lot of machismo!
For Sky Sports Darts’ Wayne Mardle, the confrontation between Price and Gurney was just another demonstration of the gruelling nature of “professional sport”.
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Daryl Gurney expertly took out 150 as he closed the gap on Gerwyn Price at the World Matchplay.
And Mardle has “no problem” with such angry interactions on stage.
“Daryl Gurney didn’t like a reaction from Gezzy, so he kind of mimicked Gezzy’s reaction. Gezzy didn’t like his mimicking of his reaction, and kids will be kids,” he said.
“It’s all childish. At the end when it kind of got a physical handshake, I think it’s better than cuddling to be fair. It’s professional sport. I haven’t got a problem with it at all.
“There was a lot of machismo up there.”
‘They’re feisty characters aren’t they?’
Sky Sports Darts’ Mark Webster said:
“Gerwyn Price was taking [issue with] Daryl Gurney’s mimicking of him. They’re feisty characters aren’t they?
“Let’s not take away from what was a brilliant game. Price kept it in check until he got that winning leg and Gerwyn Price gets the last laugh.
“That’s the type of characters they are. I think Price said ‘well played, buddy’.”
What’s next at the World Matchplay?
The World Matchplay continues on Tuesday July 22 as the second round gets under way in Blackpool, live on Sky Sports Action and Main Event from 7pm.
The session sees Gian van Veen take on Danny Noppert, Wessel Nijman up against James Wade, Stephen Bunting play Gary Anderson, and Jonny Clayton face Mike De Decker.
Watch the World Matchplay live on Sky Sports from July 19-27 or stream without a contract.