Gervin Price was welcomed into his PDC Premier League clash in Cardiff on Thursday with cheers from the crowd and a ferocious performance from Yma O Hyd in a welcome change from the jeers and insults he is usually faced with.
Price, known as ‘The Iceman’, defeated Nathan Aspinall 6–3 in the final round on the second night of the tournament in Cardiff to win the second night of the PDC Premiership, a £10,000 bonus to the winner and five points towards the standings.
Perhaps the supporting crowd had something to do with his performance, as clips show a high-pitched chant by Dafydd Iwan Yma O Hyd echoing through the Motorpoint Arena.
In January, the booing from the crowd got so intense that Price threatened never to play in the World Cup again after wearing the headphones.
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But footage shared by Sky Sports Darts on Twitter showed that the crowd was far more supportive of Price this time around as he took on Chris Doby in the quarter final, beating him 6–5. He also beat Michael van Gerwen 6–5.
Speaking about the support from the crowd after the victory, Price said he only gets that kind of support “once a year”. He said: “Every step and every dart I threw, every double that went in, the crowd was right behind me. I only get it once a year and I enjoyed every moment I was there, it was brilliant, it was so wonderful.” for me. I’m not in top form so they beat me today. Can we play Cardiff every week or Swansea and Wrexham?
Just over a month ago, the former world champion threatened never to play in the PDC World Championship again after his insults escalated. Price was controversially banned from darts’ biggest tournament when he resorted to headphones to drown out the noise amid the rioting crowd.
Price has been a target for Alexandra Palace fans in recent years and the attack clearly got to him as they lost 5-1 to their impressive opposition.
Price suggested he must have had enough of being humiliated by the crowd by now, posting on Instagram: “So frustrating, you play all year preparing for this tournament. So sad I couldn’t play, but good luck to everyone who stayed. Not sure if I’ll play in this event again.”
Premier League PDC night two results
Quarterfinals
Michael Smith 6-3 Johnny Clayton
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Peter Wright
Gervin Price 6-5 Chris Dobie
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Semifinal
Michael Smith 4-6 Nathan Aspinall
Price Gerwin 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Final
Nathan Aspinall 3-6 Gervin Price
Source: Wales Online
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