Gerwyn Price went into Sunday’s game against James Wade knowing that he needed a win to avoid an early exit from this year’s Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton
Gerwyn Price has revealed that he told pal James Wade he’d ‘smash him up’ before trouncing him 5-0 at the Grand Slam of Darts. Price and Wade met in Wolverhampton on Sunday and put their ‘great friendship’ away from the oche to one side.
Having lost his opening fixture 5-4 to Ricky Evans earlier in the weekend, Price needed a result to give himself a chance of progressing to the knockout phase and keep his hopes of winning the £150,000 prize money alive. The Welshman did just that in emphatic fashion.
Price whitewashed Wade and suggested that his pre-match comments could’ve ‘hurt’ his opponent. After the win, Price explained: “I said to him – we were practicing backstage – literally this is what I said, he said ‘all the best’.
“I said, ‘James, I’m your friend but, honestly, I’m not here to be your friend, I’m here to smash you up’. I don’t know, maybe that hurt him a bit. I’m not sure.”
The 40-year-old went on to say: “It was a tough one against Wadie – he’s a great friend of mine, and whoever came through, I said to him we’ve got a good chance of going on and winning this tournament.
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“So yeah, it was a tough one, but I’m glad I came through. Sometimes I prefer that pressure, you know, when you know if you lose, you’re going home.
“In a knockout situation I seem to find my best stuff, and yeah, I played well today. James missed a couple of chances, but I was clear to go.”
Wade has now been eliminated from the competition, having suffered a shock 5-4 defeat to Switzerland’s Stefan Bellmont in his opener. Also on Sunday, world No.1 Luke Humphries hit a stunning nine-darter to beat Michael Smith.
Humphries was among six players, including reigning champion Luke Littler, to secure their place in the last 16 with one game to spare. “It’s the weirdest game of darts I’ve been involved in,” Humphries admitted following his 5-3 victory.
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“I didn’t feel good and couldn’t hit a treble. It all felt like hard work and I thought the game was gone. To then go on and hit a nine-darter, that’s why darts is one of the best sports in the world. It was quite an incredible game to be part of, and I’m still flabbergasted from what just happened!”
Meanwhile, rising star Beau Greaves can no longer qualify after she lost 5-4 to Gary Anderson in agonising fashion. “She’s brilliant, isn’t she?,” Anderson said of the 21-year-old.
“I’ve pulled out just about every stop that I’ve had in the bag tonight to win that game. She is going to cause so much trouble next year on the circuit.
“She is by far [the best female player] until somebody else comes along, but I would say that. I know Fallon (Sherrock) is a great player, and Lisa (Ashton), but Beau is a wee bit different.”
The final takes place on Sunday.
