"I thought maybe they would give him a year off": Paul Nicholson slightly surprised by Gerwyn Price continuing in Premier League

Paul Nicholson was slightly surprised with Gerwyn Price making it to the Premier League line-up with 'The Asset' who famously up until recently was the only player to win a major to miss out on the yearly roadshow.

Nicholson said that given he was the lowest ranked player in the line-up and is lower than Noppert and Wade as well as only just ahead of Nathan Aspinall that he was fortunate to cling on to his spot in the line-up.

Albeit this flies in the face of most of the conjecture which surrounds the elite eight which is around the inclusion more of Stephen Bunting than anyone else with 'The Bullet' not doing too well in the event last year.

He also suffered an early exit from the World Championship. Bunting has tried his hardest to grow his image as of late but that also has come semi at his detirement with comments calling himself the People's Champion being balked at.

While abuse was also levied at his son Tobias. But Price on the other hand perhaps has a case for it to be called into question with 'The Iceman' winning four ProTours but he also has not lifted a PDC major titles since 2022 and has not reached a major final in the last season.

"Gerwyn Price is the lowest ranked player to be picked at number 12, which is lower than both Danny Noppert and James Wade but two places higher than Nathan Aspinall.

"Therefore there are plenty of fans out there that will say he's very fortunate to cling onto his spot and if I'm honest, he wasn't on my list. I thought maybe they would give him a year off to fire him up once again.

But while that is the case, Nicholson argued that he is box office and that his persona ticks the boxes. It was more clear cut too his end this year with him and Nathan Aspinall being the controversial picks in 2025. Price though hasn't suffered the same fate despite not being ranked high anyway.

"But, what they like about Price is that he did have a really good season overall when it comes to money and titles won even though he didn't really challenge in any of the big majors.

"The one thing you'll always get from Price is this vibrancy and this ability to garner headlines. Whether he's losing or winning he's not a vanilla player and the PDC want someone who's a bit different and grabs everyone's attention.

"He could probably play the best darts of his life in 2026 but I don't think we can say that about James Wade as confidently. That’s not a slight on James, it’s just that if these guys were a stock, you’d buy Price with more confidence right now."