Gerwyn Price said he was focused on “not letting out his feelings” during his fiery clash with Daryl Gurney, who ended with the couple exchanging tense words and an angry handshake on the world’s match play.
The price came through A bad temperate competition as 10-7 winsWith the catalyst for their friction that came in the ninth leg when Gurney got annoying at Price’s big roar and reactions and began to emulate the Welsh.
From then on, Price held his feelings during wrapping until he hit the winning Dart of D12 and relaxed a massive roar and gave a huge party to the crowd, a frosty conversation that felt when the couple shared what was a very unfriendly handshake at the end of their fight.
This is not the first time Gurney and Price have collided on the big stage, the couple exchanges pushing and words back in 2019 after a Premier League meeting.
“To be honest, I thought I was fighting for that game, but I came out and watched the statistics, and on average about 100 I think, which is decent,” Price said.
“I felt I was pretty bad in our games in patches and didn’t play very well and there’s much more in the thought.
“I just felt like I needed to stay composed. Sometimes I forced to let my feelings get the best of me, and sometimes that’s what’s happening and I can let go out, and then the next leg is not so good, so sometimes I try to control it and I did it in that game.
“I might think that’s what got me over the winning line just trying to keep everything intact and then let it go at the end.
“For many legs, I knocked myself up, lacked opportunities, I made a big score, and I did absolutely garbage and just kept him in the game.
“I went to the table and I felt that 150 was going out and it did, and it just gave me a kick up the back too just to break him here now and get the match done. And I did.
“I’ve learned to keep my feelings intact and I think I did today in two or three legs where my head was going to blow up, but I just had to hold it in.”
Mardle: It’s all childish … a lot of machismo!
For Sky Sports Darts’ Wayne Mardle, the confrontation between Price and Gurney was just another demonstration of the overwhelming nature of “professional sport”.
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Daryl Gurney took the expert 150 when he closed the gap on Gerwyn Price on 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 mimicked kind of Gezzy’s reaction. Gezzy didn’t like his imitation of his reaction and the kids will be children,” 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 don’t have a problem with it at all.
“There was a lot of machismo up there.”
‘They are feisty grades, right?’
Sky Sports Darts’ Mark Webster said:
“Gerwyn Price took [issue with] Daryl Gurney’s imitation of him. They are feisty grades, aren’t they?
“Let’s not remove what was a brilliant game. Price kept it in check until he got the winning leg and Gerwyn Price gets the last laughter.
“That’s the type of characters they are. I think Price said ‘well played, mate’.”
What is the next on World Matchplay?
World Matchplay continues on Tuesday, July 22, as the second round starts in Blackpool, Live On Sky Sports Action and Main Event from 19:00.
The session sees Gian van Veen Tage at 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 19 to 27 July or stream without a contract.