Price on being painted as bad boy of Darts: 'I accepted it to a certain extent but it got a bit over the top'

Gerwyn Price has spent a lot of this year proving the doubters wrong and firmly establishing himself as many would say the second best player in the world but has seen booing and whistling become the norm.

This though reached a crescendo last month when Price won the Grand Slam of Darts for a second year running where he was applauded instead of giving the raucous reception he is used to.

'The Iceman' recently sat down with The Guardian for a feature on his rise and mindset. He said that he started to gain the winning mentality and from there wanted more and more.

He added that people didn't care when they were winning against him about his on stage persona while now it has got too over the top in terms of the crowd getting involved.

“A lot of people can throw darts,” said Price to The Guardian. “It’s just how they think about the game. That’s how I’ve improved. My mind is different.”

“You turn up and you’re like: ‘Just get through the first round.’ I wasn’t bothered about winning tournaments at the beginning. I just wanted to win enough money so I could stay on the tour, earn a living for my family. But then when you start to win, you just want more and more.”

“I’m not the only person that shows emotion,” he added. “The majority do and it’s hard to hold back. People think I do it to put people off. I just need it to get myself going. It didn’t really bother people when they were beating me.”

“You were turning up to games and one or two people would boo,” said the Welshman. “Then a few more would join in. I was painted as the villain of darts. I accepted it to a certain extent. But it got a bit over the top.”