“I’m going to get back-to-back nine-darters” – Gerwyn Price makes bold Premier League prediction

Gerwyn Price returns to action tonight on the second night of the 2026 Premier League Darts. At the AFAS Dôme in Antwerp, the Welshman faces Gian van Veen in the quarter-finals.

Currently ranked world number eleven, Price has been waiting for a new major title since 2022. For a long time, his selection for the 2026 Premier League was far from guaranteed. Yet as the season begins, motivation is clearly not an issue.

“I’m really looking forward to the Premier League this year for some strange reason,” Price said in conversation with TalkSport ahead of last week's season opener in Newcastle. “I’m not sure why. I’m just looking forward to being on the road and giving it 110%.”

Last year, Price reached Finals Night at London’s O2 Arena, but the Premier League title ultimately slipped through his fingers. Rather than frustration, there is a sense of unfinished business.

“I feel like there were a couple of games in the Premier League and a few other tournaments that I probably could have and should have won, but it just never happened,” he reflected. “Hopefully, I’ll have a little bit of luck on my side this season, and there’ll be a few trophies in the cabinet. Hopefully, the Premier League is one of them.”

At the very top level, Price knows how fine the margins are. One missed double, one wrong decision at the wrong time, and a tournament can be over.

Rewind five years, and the picture looks very different. Price was regularly booed, criticised, and cast as darts’ pantomime villain. The confrontational celebrations, the intensity, the refusal to back down only fuelled the atmosphere.

Now, the mood around him has shifted dramatically.

“I expected it to change, but I didn’t expect it to change so quickly,” Price admitted. “I’m not sure why, but yeah, I’m happy the crowd has changed, and I get a little bit more support than I used to. Hopefully it just continues.”

Anyone who watched him recently at the Winmau World Masters could see it. The interaction with the crowd remains, but it is lighter, more playful. The edge is still there, but the audience now seems to embrace it rather than push back.

One of the Premier League’s most talked-about moments remains the golden darts awarded for a nine-darter. Price produced two of them last season, and he is confident lightning can strike again.

“100%. I had two last year,” he said. “I’m going to get back-to-back nine-darters this year, or somebody is. I’ve just got a prediction that it’s going to happen.”

Price also has a clear preference when chasing perfection. While many players stay on treble 20, he often switches to treble 19 on his second visit.

“I just feel like it’s so hard to hit the nine-darter, and if you don’t hit it, you’ve got to set it up right,” he explained. “That’s the perfect way for me to go. If I hit treble 19 then treble 20, my eyes are already moving from there to there, rather than all around the board.

“It’s just down, up, across. I think it’s easier. And if I don’t hit the treble 19, it’s easier for me to set up and leave double top.”

It is classic Price: intense, analytical, and fully committed to his own system.

One night that still lingers for many fans is last year’s Premier League stop in Cardiff. In front of his home crowd, Price was knocked out by Rob Cross, who sealed the match with a dramatic 170 finish.

Price himself is typically blunt about it.

“I actually forgot about it,” he said.

Even so, playing in Wales remains special.

“Like I say every single season, we only get to play in Wales once, so it’s great to go back there,” he said. “It’s great to have the crowd, and it’s good to have Jonny back as well.”

With Price and Jonny Clayton on opposite halves of the draw, the possibility of an all-Welsh final is real, and Price cannot resist looking ahead.

“It could be an all-Welsh final. That’s probably when I’m going to hit my back-to-back nine-darters, win two sets of gold darts and beat Jonny in the final.”

Friendship, however, stays off the stage.

“Jonny’s a great friend off the board, and I get on with a lot of other players off the board as well,” Price said. “But whenever I’m on stage, everybody’s the same. I just play my game.”

Price’s early exit at the World Championship against Wesley Plaisier surprised many, but he remains pragmatic.

“He played a decent game and I played below par,” Price said. “That’s what happens sometimes, you go out of a tournament. I don’t dwell on the past too much. It’s gone.”

The same outlook applies to his recent record against Luke Littler, who has had the upper hand in their latest meetings.

“I just think I keep missing, to be honest. I think it’s my fault,” Price said. “The Grand Prix quarter-final, I missed double top, went for a double and hit double one. It’s little moments like that.

“I might have lost ten on the bounce, but probably six or seven of them were my own fault. It wasn’t because he was too good. It was because I missed opportunities and messed the game up.”

For Price, the difference at the very top comes down to delivering in decisive moments.

“My name, the Lukes, the Michaels,” he said. “They do big things in big moments when they need to, and I think that’s the difference.”

As a proud Welshman, Price continues to push for more top-level darts events in Wales. With Winmau and Red Dragon both Welsh brands, he believes the opportunity is there.

“I’ve said it all along,” he said. “It’s a pity we only get one Premier League night. There’s no reason why they couldn’t take ProTours or other events there, or even another Premier League night.

“The World Masters is a big major, and it would be great to see it in Wales. Fingers crossed Red Dragon or Winmau start to push that.”

Away from darts, Price is preparing for a quieter change of pace, with a planned move to a farm in the countryside.

“It’s not completed yet, so fingers crossed it happens soon,” he said. “I wanted to complete as soon as possible. I don’t want things going on when the Premier League’s on, I want to be stress-free.”

He is quick to add that he will not be turning farmer any time soon.

“Mainly just a nice house in the countryside,” Price said. “I’ll probably have some small animals, but I won’t be farming it myself. There’ll be something going on there.”