PRICE LOOKS TO RECLAIM GLORY ON THE BIG STAGE

GERWYN PRICE admits he must start delivering on the major stage after falling short at the World Championship.

World No12 Price edged past Motomu Sakai 6-4 in a nervy affair to reach the quarter-final of the Bahrain Masters.

‘The Iceman’ has not lifted a PDC Premier event title since winning the World Series Finals in 2022 and was recently dumped out of Ally Pally in round two by Wesley Plaisier.

Price acknowledges his next challenge is backing up his strong floor form on the biggest stages.

He said: “It was just one of them games and days. Sometimes you just have to take it on the chin.

“I was unfortunate that it happened to me in the World Championship.

“For me it is wrong timing, but fair play, the kid played well against me. I have moved on from that and look forward to 2026.

“I know how well I played last season. I did really well on the ProTours and Europeans.

“I just need to back it up and start doing well on TV now.”

The Markham thrower also revealed a lack of recent practice played a part in his scrappy display in Bahrain.

He added: “We are all here to win. I tinkered with my darts today. I put in some shorter points.

“I probably should have done that after I practised. I haven’t been on the board for about ten days or two weeks.

“I have had a weeks holiday.

“I did take a travel board with me, but it didn’t go on the wall. I probably should have had a practice.

“I will try out something different this week and next to see how things go, but the priority is the Masters at the end of month.

“These are good prep. I give them 100 percent, but I need to put a bit of practice in now over the next couple of weeks.”

Price also joked that the nine-darter bonus at next week’s Saudi Arabia Darts Masters should be increased to £1million.

The cash-rich organisers, backed by the country’s oil and gas wealth, are offering $100,000 (£75,000) to any player who hits a perfect leg during the two-day event.

On top of that, any player who then hits the bull with a 10th dart — despite the leg already being over — will pocket an extra £100,000 (£75,000).

He laughed: “That’s great. Once you hit a nine-darter, you get an opportunity to win another £100,000 on top.

“That would be great, but I’m sure they get £1million in Snooker, so they need to up it a bit.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.