PRICE NEEDED TIME AWAY AFTER WORLD CUP WITHDRAWAL

GERWYN PRICE admits he needed time away from darts after withdrawing from the World Cup.

The Iceman pulled out of next month’s tournament in Frankfurt, with Nick Kenny drafted in to partner Jonny Clayton for Wales.

World No10 Price has won the competition twice in 2020 and 2023 while also reaching THREE further finals.

But Price says the hectic schedule and recent health concerns forced him to step back and spend time with his family.

He said: “There needs to be a slot where I can take a little bit of time off and give some time back to the family because the schedule’s hectic at the minute.

“It’s just about taking a break and spending some time with the family.

“Nick’s a fantastic player who wears his heart on his sleeve, similar to me.

“He’s a proud Welshman and I know he’ll give 110%.

“For Jonny to be playing with Nick, there’s no better partner that could have slotted in there.

“I wish them all the best and I think they’ll represent Wales well and carry the badge with pride. Fingers crossed they can go on and win.”

Price reached Premier League Finals Night after a campaign that mixed flashes of brilliance with disruption around his schedule and conditioning.

The Welshman won two league nights during the 16-week season, including a dominant display in Manchester, but also missed ranking events while waiting for answers over his health.

However, Price revealed those concerns now appear to have eased ahead of the play-offs at London’s O2 Arena.

He added: “Yeah, not just tomorrow. It frees me up to go back and play a lot more ranking tournaments.

“After the Premier League tour, going to take the next European off and Pro Tours next week, and I’ll have a little bit of a holiday, which I haven’t had for quite a while.

“And then after that, it’ll set me back up to hit the ranking events.

“I’m feeling like I’m in a good place and I think my game’s in a good place.

“I probably wish I’d played in one or two ProTours or European Tour events leading up to this, but it is what it is and I’m still playing really well.

“I thought I played well last week and just got a little bit unlucky against Stephen.

“My form’s there, I’m in a good head space and hopefully it all falls into place tomorrow.”

Price faces Luke Littler in the semi-finals and is determined to put right last year’s defeat to the teenage sensation at the same stage.

He continued: “There’s been opportunities there for me to win, opportunities for me to win quite easily in some games and I’ve just slipped up.

“It’s been my fault why I’ve lost, but if I play anywhere near my game, anywhere near my top form, then I’ll definitely come through that game.”

The Markham thrower has lifted eight major titles during his illustrious career but the Premier League has always evaded him.

Price came closest in 2023 when he stormed to the final, only to suffer an 11-5 defeat against Michael van Gerwen in the showpiece decider.

He said: “Yeah, definitely. This is third time, third time lucky.

“My main aim was to get here and make the playoffs and I’ve got a great chance to win.

“Obviously it’s one of the ones that I haven’t won.

“So, just to tick that off and you’ll get that one in the bag.

“It would ease the pressure moving forward as well. But, until you win a major, then, you know, there’s always added pressure every year.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.