Gerwyn Price’s Grand Slam of Darts last-eight tie against Ricky Evans was temporarily halted by referee Huw Ware on Friday night.
Price progressed to the event’s semi-finals with a 16-9 victory over Evans in Wolverhampton to set up a mouthwatering final four clash against Luke Humphries, who beat Michael Smith 16-8 in his last-eight match.
Welshman Price has reached the semi-finals of the competition on three occasions – in 2018, 2019, and 2021 – before then going on to win the tournament each time.
The 40-year-old started well and won the first four legs without too much trouble coming from Evans.
Advert
In the second session, Evans averaged 108 and clawed his way back into the match, but Price moved 7-3 ahead.
‘Rapid Ricky’ responded, closing the gap to 9-6 before Price’s 116 checkout extended his lead to 12-9.
After a break of throw, two holds and a 101 checkout, ‘The Iceman’ ensured his progression to the next round, but not without some controversy.
During leg nine of the clash, referee Ware addressed the enthusiastic crowd’s poor conduct after whistles could be heard coming from some sections of those gathered inside WV Active Aldersley.
Ware said: "Would you stop doing that, please? Seriously!"
Following his victory, Price claimed he was “quite calm” throughout the contest despite seeing “Ricky getting them [the fans] up”.
"It's mad how everyone plays their best game against me! Twice Ricky played well in this tournament, and it's twice against me," Price told Sky Sports.
"I didn't play at my top game, but I played really good tonight.
"I was quite calm apart from halfway through. I saw Ricky getting them [the crowd] up, but I was like 'I'm giving that back, I have to!'
"I love Ricky, he's a great player, he's in some great form. He's been fantastic over the last couple of months.
"I'm coming back to my best. I'm not there yet."
The action continues on Saturday, with Luke Littler – the reigning champion - set to take on Josh Rock while Lukas Venig faces Danny Noppet.
The semi-finals will take place on Sunday afternoon before the final gets underway at around 7 pm that evening, with the winner set to take away £150,000 in prize money. The runner-up will earn £70,000.
There have been just nine different winners of the Grand Slam of Darts since 2007, with Phil Taylor being the most successful player with six victories.
Topics: Luke Humphries, Darts
Luke Davies