"Was just his coping mechanism": Gerwyn Price never actually enjoyed being darting villain says Polly James as fan favourite status completes turnaround
PDC
Gerwyn Price has become a bit of a fans favourite in the past 18 months, with the Welshman going from being the booed pantomime villain to his roar eliciting great adoration from the crowd. But what has changed?
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Price often has said that he actually used the abuse from the crowd to fire him up, but in the view of fellow Welsh-darting personality interviewer Polly James, he likely never liked it in the first place and used it as a coping mechanism to get through.
Now he is a favourite among the darting masses; putting a finger on why is quite easy for James, who said that in reality, people love the Welsh fire that he brings out on the oche more than anything else with an authenticity and passion to match.
"Gerwyn is a really interesting one because he's had such a journey with the fans. For a long time, as you say, he was one of the most divisive characters in darts. And now he's become a real crowd favourite in so many places," she said to LeasingOptions.
Price has always shown passion on the Oche.
Feeding off crowd hate was just a 'coping mechanism'
"I think he always used to say to me when he was on stage, 'Yeah, you know, I feed off all the boos, and I feed off the whistling.' I really think that was just his coping mechanism to get over the fact that he was being booed, if that makes sense.
"He plays so much better when the crowd is on his side. He's kind of struck this amazing balance now with the fans, where he goes on and gives it that big trademark roar. People are just loving it, and you kind of fall in love with him.
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"He's been around in the game long enough for people to know exactly what he's like. I think people respect his authenticity. With Gerwyn, what you see is what you get. He's passionate, he's emotional, and he's fiercely competitive. That's the Welshness in him that I love. I love it. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and you know exactly how much it means to him.
"I think people have come to appreciate that there's so much more to him than just the intensity you see on stage. He's got a softer side — I wouldn't necessarily say a soft side, but he's got a good sense of humour, and there's a real vulnerability there as well.
But also with Price, it comes down to darts needing characters in the view of James, and this is a recipe that the fans in tandem come to love in time instead of hating him continually.
"Ultimately, I do think fans love a character, and Gerwyn is one of those proper darts characters. He's not afraid to be himself, he's not afraid to show emotion, and whether he's winning or losing, you get a good reaction. More often than not, when I'm interviewing Gerwyn, particularly more recently, he's been in the runner-up position.
"Even though he is, in his own way, graceful in defeat, he's always honest. No one likes losing; this is a competitive sport. There's so much jeopardy and so much money on the line. He's true to himself, and he's like, "I hate that. I hated losing. I don't want to come second. I thought I was the better player."
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Price one of the 'truest characters' in darts
But also taking a peek behind the curtain, James said that while he is laser-focused on that competitive edge on stage, he is also in his pre-match and post-match media duties and is even more locked in.
It has been remarked before by Price himself that he comes in three hours before the tournament starts and asks the Head of Media for any interviews and schedules them accordingly, and he has also said before about his superstitions, including going home while in the UK during tournaments to work on his farm and business interests.
"Honestly, I mean, people see the intensity and the celebrations. He's got that fire on stage, and that's what they think he's like 24/7," continued James.
"But he's a really interesting character to interview because he is very passionate. I think in the last couple of years, from my point of view, I'd say that over the last couple of years, he really has become one of those athletes, those sportspeople who will come into a venue, and you would expect him to be so fiery.
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Price on pre-match rituals.
"For example, I'm trying to make the contrast for you, so you've got people like Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross, and all these fun characters who will come in, and they're really easygoing, really chilled out, calm, and having a laugh, and there's a bit of banter.
"Gerwyn comes in, and he's very much like, "What interviews do I have? How long is it going to take?" Head down, and then he gets into it. He's locked in. He's dialled in, and he knows his routine.
"I think that's happened a lot more over the last couple of years. So you don't get a lot from Gerwyn before his game. Then, obviously, when you do interview him behind the scenes, he is very real. He's authentic in the sense that you could say to him, "Oh, look, guys, you had a really good game there," or, "The average [set of darts] was really great," and he'd be like, "No, you know, I bombed a couple of doubles."
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"But he's one of the truest characters out there. He's very serious, but he's not too dissimilar to what you see on stage. Obviously, he comes alive a little bit when he's in motion and when he's in action, but I think he's more of an athlete than people think."
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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