PRICE LOOKS ON ACCIDENTAL PDC MOVE
10/02/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
GERWYN PRICE admits he wouldn’t have left rugby for darts if he’d known the financial cost.
‘The Iceman’ swapped tries for 180s after starting his sporting career as a hooker with Welsh Premier Division sides Neath and Cross Keys.
World No.12 Price’s switch to the oche was sparked by ex-player and fellow Welshman Barrie Bates, who encouraged him to test himself at Q-School.
He told the Tops and Tales podcast: “I only went there because Barrie Bates was twisting my arm, messaging me and enticing me to go for like two years, and I eventually went.
“I had no expectations of myself at all. I was just there to support Barrie and Jon Worsley, have a weekend away and just try my luck.
“If I’d known at the time that we had to pay to enter Pro Tours – which was a hundred quid plus a fiver for markers – and pay to enter the European Tours, if I knew that I wouldn’t have come.
“A weekend with the hotel could cost me a grand. But looking back, I’m glad I didn’t know.”
Price revealed close pal Bates was taken aback by how quickly he took to darts, joking that he should go back to rugby.
He added: “I used to go around all the local tournaments—£300, £400, £500 for the winner—and I used to win the majority of them.
“I’d only just picked up a set of darts and I was still playing rugby.
“I played Barry and smashed him up in the George, And he was like, ‘Why don’t you f*** off back to rugby?’
“He kept saying, ‘You’ve got to come to Q School’, and I was like, ‘I’m a rugby player—no, it’s not for me’.”
The Markham thrower picked up his Tour Card in 2014 and has gone on to become one of the world’s best players.
Price has claimed an impressive seven major titles, including the World Championship in 2021.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
