“It's not all about the booooozing”: Gerwyn Price playfully praises Saudi Arabia crowd for being respectful over usual booing and whistling

Gerwyn Price left the stage in Riyadh convinced the debut night of the 2026 Saudi Arabia Darts Masters, part of the World Series of Darts, had delivered something different.

After a brutal 6-0 win over Alexis Toylo, the Welshman said the crowd reaction surprised him, not for its volume but for its focus.

“They were watching and engaged in the darts,” Price said afterwards. “A couple of times when I walked back after my visit, I just looked out into the crowd and they were all fully focused, watching and engaged in the darts."

"Sometimes in other arenas they’re there for a good drink and a party atmosphere and sometimes they’re not even watching the darts," added the former world champion. "Here they were more involved in watching the darts.”

On the board, Price produced the most dominant performance of the opening session.

He broke in 15 darts on 74 in the opening leg and held for 2-0 with a quick 56 checkout in two darts. The moment that changed the feel of the match, and possibly the room, came in leg three.

Price went for the Big Fish and reeled in 170, erupting in celebration and finally drawing a roar from the Riyadh crowd. He moved 3-0 up, and although he missed a few doubles in the next leg, his scoring was so far ahead that Toylo never had a real chance.

Double 12 made it 5-0, and Price closed out the whitewash on the same target to cruise into the quarter finals without breaking sweat.

That decision to go for 170 rather than set it up was not accidental.

“I think the crowd are itching for big things to happen and for them to get involved,” Price said. “That’s probably the reason why I went for the 170 rather than set it up. Usually, if the opponent’s not on a short out, I set it up, but it just felt nice to try and get the crowd involved.”

Alexis Toylo has built a reputation as one of the most methodical players in the field, and Price said he adjusted early to avoid being dragged out of rhythm.

“I knew he was probably going to be a bit slower than most players,” he said. “I just held back a little bit and got my rhythm with the walk up to the oche and the way I throw. I just let him do his thing first before I started doing any of my prep on the board.”

Once he found that rhythm, the match quickly became one-way traffic.

The Saudi Arabia Darts Masters marks the first World Series visit to the country, and Price felt the atmosphere was unlike most arenas he plays in. “I thought it was quite good,” he said. “You could hear the individuals now and again. It felt different, but in a good way.”

He also addressed the idea that crowds without alcohol cannot generate a proper darts atmosphere. “People have said they don’t think it would be any good because there’s no alcohol in the crowd and the atmosphere would be no good,” he said. “But I disagree. They were itching to get involved. If it was a World Championship and people were hitting big scores over a longer format, giving time for the crowd to get involved, I think it would be good.”

Price arrived in Saudi Arabia still annoyed with how his World Series opener in Bahrain ended. He beat Luke Littler there but went out in the semi-finals, something that still sat badly with him.

“I didn’t really look too much into beating Luke,” he said. “I’m up there to win whether it’s Luke or anybody. At the end of the day, I lost in the semi final, which I wasn’t happy with. I’m there to win and I’m not there to lose in semis. Even though I’m happy to get a win over Luke, I was a bit disappointed.”

In Riyadh, the response was emphatic.

Several players commented during the opening night that the stage felt cold, but for Price that was no bad thing.

“I was practising backstage before we went on and it was a little bit breezy,” he said. “I was like, fingers crossed it’s not going to be like that on the stage. But it wasn’t. It was a little bit cold, a bit of a chill in the air, but it wasn’t affecting the darts. I don’t mind that.”

Price was also asked about the wider future of major darts tournaments and whether they should stay rooted in one place.

The World Championship is confirmed to remain in London for the next five years, but Price said he is relaxed about where events are staged. “To be honest, I’m not really bothered anymore,” he said. “I seem to get a good crowd in Alexandra Palace, so it’s nice to have them on my side. Wherever the PDC decide to take it, I think it’ll be the right decision. They don’t really make many bad decisions. If they were to take it somewhere else then I’m happy, but if it’s in Alexandra Palace then that’s where it is.”

For now, though, his focus is on Riyadh.

A crushing whitewash has put him into the last eight of the 2026 Saudi Arabia Darts Masters, and if the crowd continue to watch as closely as they did on opening night, Price seems more than happy to give them something worth focusing on.