PRICE LEFT FRUSTRATED BY ANTWERP JEERS

GERWYN PRICE admitted the Antwerp crowd tested his patience at times despite winning Night Two of the Premier League.

‘The Iceman’ saw off Gian van Veen, Jonny Clayton and Michael van Gerwen to lift the title and leap into second place at the table.

World No.11 Price revealed the occasional whistles and jeers threatened to break his concentration on the big stage. 

Price hopes the experience will improve if the event continues to return to Belgium after its debut year.

He said: “I feel like they were decent through every game.  

“You get it in every country, you get a whistle here and there, they can sort of put you off, but the majority of the time they were good. In patches they could be better.

“I didn’t deal with it very well in the semis but I managed to get through it. It’s frustrating at times. 

“They have a couple of beers and what can you expect? Hopefully we come here for many years and they’ll get a bit better.”

Price has won seven major titles in his decorated career but his most recent came in 2022 at the World Series Finals.   

The Markham thrower believes watching Luke Humphries and Luke Littler dominate the sport over the past two years has given him extra motivation to raise his own game. 

He added: “To be honest, I’d love to win tournaments but it’s not a be-all and end-all as long as I keep winning money, keep winning and staying up in the top eight in the world, hopefully get back into the top four. 

“I’d love to win majors but it’s not something I put myself under pressure for. 

“I think the fact that the two Lukes are playing so well has probably kicked us up the backside a bit, definitely me. I’m practising more than ever and it’s paying off.

“It’s good for the sport because everybody’s on their toes.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.