DartsNews Podcast | “I feel sorry for Jonny Clayton” - Gerwyn Price’s mystery World Cup absence leaves Wales in the lurch

Gerwyn Price’s unexplained withdrawal from the 2026 World Cup of Darts has left Wales without the partnership that has shaped their modern history in the event, with DartsNews Podcast cohosts and expert analysts Kieran Wood and Nicolas Gayer questioning what his absence now means for Jonny Clayton and the nation’s title hopes.

Price and Clayton are not just a dangerous Welsh pairing. They are one of the great World Cup teams of recent years. Together they won Wales’ first title in 2020, reached another final in 2022, reclaimed the crown in 2023 and finished runners-up again in 2025 after a deciding-leg defeat to Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney.

That record is why Price’s latest absence has landed so heavily. Wales are not simply losing a high-profile name. They are losing half of a proven World Cup formula, and Clayton is again being asked to adjust his tournament plans without the partner alongside whom he has produced his best moments in the competition.

The uncertainty is sharpened by Price’s own clarification that his withdrawal is not due to health reasons. The former world champion has had well-documented issues with illness and fitness across recent months, but that explanation has been ruled out by Price himself, leaving the wider darts world still waiting for a fuller reason.

Speaking during the Hotseat segment of the latest DartsNews Podcast, Gayer asked Wood, as a Welsh darts follower, whether Price’s withdrawal felt like Wales had been denied another serious chance at World Cup success. Wood’s answer was not one of entitlement, but of confusion over the lack of clarity.

“I don't know if I feel robbed of a title, but I'm certainly intrigued as to why he's not playing,” Wood said. “Both from a Welsh fan's perspective and from a journalistic perspective."

“I think his battles with health and illness have been well documented recently. But with him coming out on his Instagram story and saying very clearly that he's not pulled out for medical reasons, it does raise the questions of, well, why did you pull out then?”

The World Cup of Darts has become one of the clearest measures of Price and Clayton’s chemistry. Whenever both have been available together in recent years, Wales have looked like a team built for the final weekend.

Their 2020 success changed the status of Welsh darts in the competition. Price and Clayton beat England’s Michael Smith and Rob Cross in the final, securing a landmark triumph and ending years of Welsh near misses.

Two years later, they were back in the final again, this time losing to Australia’s Simon Whitlock and Damon Heta as the Australian pair claimed their country’s first title. In 2023, Wales responded emphatically, with Price and Clayton beating Scotland’s Peter Wright and Gary Anderson to win the tournament for a second time.

Even last year, when they were denied the title by Rock and Gurney, Wales still reached another final. Across their recent World Cup runs as a pair, the evidence is stark: when Price and Clayton play together, Wales usually go very deep.

That is what makes the 2026 situation so awkward. Price missed the 2024 edition through health issues, leaving Clayton to partner Jim Williams as defending champions. Wales went out in the last 16 against Croatia. Now, two years later, Clayton again heads to the tournament without Price, only this time the reason remains unknown.

Gayer admitted that, before the withdrawal was confirmed, he saw Wales as one of the most obvious contenders for the title.

“To be honest, from the outset, I thought this year, there would be no way or nothing stopping Wales winning that title with Jonny Clayton playing the darts of his life and Gerwyn Price in really good shape as well,” said Gayer.

Wood shared that view, arguing that Wales’ established pairing deserved to be spoken about alongside any team in the field, even with England set to feature Luke Littler and Luke Humphries.

“I don't think it's me being biased to say that, even though Littler and Humphries, obviously for England, that Price and Clayton for Wales is the best team,” Wood said. “Whenever they play, they always seem to get at least a final, don't they? Like last year as well.”

That is the point Wales cannot escape. This is not a theoretical partnership being broken up. Price and Clayton have built a World Cup record that already speaks for itself.

Nick Kenny will now partner Clayton, giving Wales another experienced stage player and a man capable of producing strong darts under pressure. Kenny is not the issue. The issue is the size of the role he is being asked to fill.

Replacing Price in this event is different to replacing him in a standard singles draw. The World Cup depends on rhythm, comfort, doubles timing and shared experience. Price and Clayton had all of that, and they had the results to prove it.

For Wood, the strongest feeling is sympathy for Clayton, who has once again seen his World Cup campaign reshaped by circumstances outside his control.

“The overriding emotion for me really, though, is just I feel sorry for Jonny Clayton,” he said. “He loves playing for Wales. He loves representing his nation in the World Cup of Darts. And through things not really inside his control, for the second time in three years, he's been left with not really much chance, has he? With all due respect to Kenny.”

Earlier in the episode, Wood also made clear that the Welsh replacement debate should not be mistaken for the bigger point. Robert Owen’s recent form may have put him into the conversation, but the ideal scenario for Wales was obvious.

“I mean, there's no question Owen's in better form than Kenny at the moment,” Wood said. “But if I'm being brutally honest, I would prefer Gerwyn Price to be there.”

Asked what Price’s absence meant for his expectations, Wood added: “I don't fancy our chances, if I'm being honest.”

That is the shift Price’s withdrawal has created. Wales were heading towards the tournament with one of the most successful pairings in World Cup history. Instead, Clayton and Kenny now arrive with more uncertainty, more pressure and far less partnership evidence behind them.

The World Cup has never been a simple ranking exercise. Pairs darts can create strange momentum, and the format has often rewarded teams who find chemistry quickly rather than those who look strongest on paper.

That is why Wales cannot be dismissed completely. Clayton remains one of the finest players in the history of the event, while Kenny has enough stage experience to make the pairing dangerous if the opening rounds settle them.

Wood acknowledged that possibility, pointing to previous World Cup pairings who have produced runs beyond what many expected before the tournament began.

“I mean, I don't know. Kenny is one of those players that he likes to play on the big stage,” Wood said. “So it wouldn't be a total surprise if they have like a Mensur Suljovic, Rowby-John Rodriguez kind of relationship, and they do have a good run. But it's just been made so much more difficult and so much more unlikely.”

That is where Wales now stand. Not written off, but no longer carrying the same authority. Not hopeless, but no longer built around the partnership that made them such a reliable World Cup threat.

Price may yet explain the full reason behind his absence. Until then, the consequence is already clear. Wales have lost the pairing that repeatedly took them to finals, and Clayton has been left trying to turn an unwanted reshuffle into another unlikely run.