Gerwyn Price beat Luke Littler in the Bahrain Darts Masters quarter-final and poked fun at the fact neither of the world’s top two players reached the final
Gerwyn Price has taken a playful swipe at the fact that neither Luke Littler nor Luke Humphries reached the Bahrain Darts Masters final on Friday. The world’s top two players, celebrated for their consistency, particularly in televised competitions, both fell at the quarter-final stage.
The Iceman demolished Littler in their quarter-final clash, reeling off five consecutive legs in a commanding 6-2 victory over the teenage world champion. The defeat ended Littler’s remarkable three-month, 21-match winning streak in televised events.
Meanwhile, Humphries suffered a 6-3 defeat to Nathan Aspinall. Cool Hand Luke surrendered a 3-1 advantage as the Asp mounted an impressive fightback.
Price couldn’t maintain his momentum and was knocked out in the semi-finals, despite having eliminated Littler in Bahrain for the second year in a row. Michael van Gerwen proved too strong for the Welshman, who struggled to gain any traction in a 7-2 defeat to his Dutch opponent.
Following his exit, Price maintained his sense of humour and turned to social media to wind up supporters. On his Instagram story, he wrote: “Gutted to lose there, didn’t feel good all night, gonna stop and watch the Luke Luke final tho.”
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The post apparently triggered some heated responses, as the 40-year-old quickly followed up to calm things down. “Don’t bite I’m joking it’s called banter,” his subsequent post read, accompanied by a crying laughter emoji and several kissing emojis.
Van Gerwen and his Dutch compatriot Gian van Veen went head-to-head in the tournament’s final after a day full of action. MVG, who had earlier defeated Price, emerged victorious over Van Veen, who had recently overtaken him as the Dutch No. 1 during the world championships.
The thrilling final saw young Van Veen attempt an impressive comeback from 6-2 down, but Van Gerwen maintained his composure to secure an 8-6 win. This meant that Van Veen ended up as the runner-up for the second consecutive tournament, having previously lost to Littler at Alexandra Palace earlier this month.
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Three-time world champion Van Gerwen was delighted to receive his award, a sizeable palm tree trophy, which brought a smile to his face. “I don’t have to prove any point,” Van Gerwen declared after receiving his trophy. “I didn’t have this one at home, I had the small version, so I wanted this one.
“Everywhere I go, I always want to win. To come to Bahrain and win this one means the world to me.”
“What Gian has been producing lately, with the World Championship final and now straight away this tournament, we are going to see a lot more of him,” he added. “I think there will be plenty more matches between us to come. He is a great talent, but I feel old now – I’m only 36!”
