Gerwyn Price makes surprise comment about darts fans after World Matchplay win

Gerwyn Price made a surprising comment after overcoming Martin Schindler in a nail-biting World Matchplay clash.

Price came from 6-2 down to beat the German 11-9 at Blackpool's iconic Winter Gardens, describing the performance as his "worst of the season".

The world No.7's display was a couple of gears below his relentless best, as he averaged just 93.88, but was punishing on the doubles with a 50 per cent strike rate.

The 41-year-old, who hasn't tasted a major tournament victory since beating Dirk van Duijvenbode in the World Series final in 2022, needs to increase his level to stand any chance of going deep into this event.

Price faces Rob Cross in a mouth-watering clash on Wednesday night and he will have the crowd firmly behind him, something he could have only dreamed of in the past.

He became a target of boos from supporters at most events on the PDC, primarily due to his 2018 Grand Slam final bust-up with Gary Anderson, as well as his on-stage aggression and history of antagonising spectators.

The worst of this treatment inside the arena was arguably between 2018 and 2022, but these days, Price receives a good reception from the fans.

Somewhat surprisingly, Price admitted that he played his best darts when the crowd was against him, and even though he doesn't want the poor reception to return, what he won during that period does speak volumes.

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"Obviously, it means the world. It definitely helps, but I don’t know, between 2018 and 2022 is when I played my best stuff," the 2021 world champion said.

“They were right against me! I’m not saying I want that again, but for those four years I probably played the best I ever played.

“I don’t want them against me, I just want that form back. It’s nice to have them with me.”

'The Iceman' won the Grand Slam on three occasions (2018, 2019, 2021), the World Grand Prix (2020), the World Series twice (2020, 2022) and the World Championship in 2021.

How Gerwyn Price plans on returning to his best

A player of Price's calibre should never go four years without winning a major televised title, and in his own words, he admitted that he hasn't played a lot of darts recently and is going to give himself a "kick up the arse" after withdrawing from several events this season.

"I haven’t played a lot of darts this year apart from the Premier League and World Series," he continued.

“I’ve missed a lot of ProTours and European Tours. The only problem is the ProTours coming up are mainly in Germany, and I absolutely hate going to those ones.

“But I think I’m going to have to if I want to build a little bit of confidence and a bit of momentum going into the back end of the year.

“Stop being so lazy, kick myself up the arse and get on the ProTours and build the confidence.”

Price demonstrated some of his best form during the Premier League, as he eventually lost 10-9 to Luke Littler in the semi-finals.

The Welshman needs to translate that relentless standard across to other majors, including the World Matchplay, as he aims to end his four-year major drought.