Gerwyn Price is number one: The rapid rise to darts world champion

Monday, January 4th, 2021

Gerwyn Price is number one
The rapid rise to darts world champion

From Kevin Schulte

The changing of the guard at the top of the darts world is perfect: Gerwyn Price wins the 2021 World Cup and jumps to the top of the world rankings. A few years ago, the Welshman played rugby as a semi-professional and worked part-time on construction sites.

Gerwyn Price wrestled with himself and the double fields for minutes. In the so far one-sided final of the Darts World Cup 2021 in London, the Welshman gets nervous. After matchdarts fly past the decisive double, final opponent Gary Anderson grabs the set and shortens it to 3: 6. Because Price skips two match darts in the tenth set, Anderson gets three chances to win another set. But even with the two-time world champion, the nerves flutter. Price can go back to the board again. And clack, the first arrow is in double 5: Gerwyn Price is darts world champion 2021.

It's the culmination of a rapid rise from pub gamer to best dart thrower in the world. The Welshman only started playing darts seriously seven years ago. Price previously worked as a semi-professional rugby player in Wales. The junior international is denied a great career due to several injuries. He earns the equivalent of almost 45,000 euros a year with rugby. In order to top up his account balance, he works part-time as an industrial insulator on construction sites.

In his spare time, Price starts playing darts. He is improving quickly and is promoted to the top Welsh pub league in Wales. The decision to finally stop rugby and put everything on the darts card was not made until 2014. "Back then, I juggled between rugby and darts. At the same time, that would not have worked any further and I realized that I was with Darts can earn a lot more money ", Price looks back on his beginnings in the" Checkout "podcast in early 2020.

Barrie Bates, a darts professional and World Cup quarter-finalist from Wales for many years, encouraged him to take part in the qualification event for the Professional Darts Corporation's professional tour. On the second day of the tournament in January 2014, Price won the valuable ticket for the PDC tour, in which only 128 players are allowed to participate annually.

Record penalty after first major victory

Unlike most of the other newcomers on the tour, Price isn't afraid of the big players. In his first year as a professional, he reached quarter and semi-finals in smaller tournaments, and also qualified for the World Cup.

In the following years, the Welshman continued to improve, qualifying more and more for the big tournaments. Just two years after starting his career, Price was 33rd in the world, at the end of 2016 he was number 19 in the world, and a year later he made it into the top 16.

The steep ascent continues unstoppably in 2018. At the Grand Slam of Darts he secured his first major title. His opponent at that time is Gary Anderson. Price wins a scandalous final with 16:13 legs. Of the 120,000 euros in prize money, however, only just under 100,000 are left because Price has received the highest fine in darts of all time for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Because of his performance against crowd favorite Anderson, the following year turns into a gauntlet for Price. Many fans boo him, at the 2019 World Cup, the "Iceman" breaks at the calls of the audience and fails in the first game. But at the Grand Slam 2019, of all places, on the spot of his greatest success to date, Price gets back on track. He defends the title in the final against Peter Wright and is a co-favorite in the 2020 World Cup.

There it comes to another showdown with Wright in the semifinals. Price has a lot of mouthfuls before the game and announces a 6-0 victory. But nothing comes of it. Price clearly loses 3: 6 and has to bury the dream of the world title for the time being. "I let myself down a bit and did not deal enough with the actual game. I beat myself," Price didn't spare ntv.de with self-criticism a little later.

"Never felt such pressure"

And obviously the 35-year-old learns quickly from his mistakes. The year 2020 will be the most successful of his career for him. Price wins three major tournaments with the World Grand Prix, the World Series Finals and the World Cup of Darts. The victory at the World Cup, the team championship, together with compatriot Jonny Clayton means a lot to him. And gives it a boost for the high point at the turn of the year.

In contrast to Michael van Gerwen or defending champion Peter Wright, Price has to fight his way into the tournament in his first game, but the Welshman survives all sticky situations. When it comes to the decisive leg in round three against Brendan Dolan, he keeps his nerve just as he did in the quarter-finals against Daryl Gurney, when a single leg also decides about getting out and about.

And even the serious double weakness at the end of the finals can no longer ruin Price's title win. "That means everything, that means the world to me," says the new darts world champion after the great triumph. "I've never felt so much pressure in my whole life. It was so difficult to throw the decisive dart in doubles. The feeling when it worked is hard to describe. I'm world champion, that's unbelievable."

"On 50th Birthday Game Over"

Gary Anderson missed his third world title, finished second for the third time.

(Photo: imago images / Pro Sports Images)

For Price it is by far the biggest payday of his career: 560,000 euros in prize money go to the Welshman's account and prove that there is actually more money to be won in darts than in rugby. "I now have four houses in Wales and am trying to make enough money that a few more are added every year," Price told Welt in the summer of 2019. His plan: rent out houses, end his career at the age of 50 and then emigrate with his family. To Florida or Australia. "The calculation goes like this: If I buy two houses every year, I don't care where I am in the world rankings in 16 years. Then my 50th birthday is game over."

With the world title, Price is quickly getting closer to his goal of being financially secure at 50. The triumph is also special because January 3, 2021 marks the end of a darts era. Gerwyn Price jumps to number one in the world rankings. Michael van Gerwen's years of dominance ended with this. Seven years ago, on New Year's Eve 2014, the Dutchman had taken the top spot. After winning his first world championship. Exactly 15 days before Gerwyn Price qualified for the professional tour.

In the podcast "Check out"hear them most exciting stories from the darts world, during the big tournaments every day. You can also find the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.