Gerwyn Price smashes Michael van Gerwen to grab third Premier League triumph
- Planet Sport writer
- 24 March 2023
Gerwyn Price dispatched Michael van Gerwen 6-1 to secure back-to-back Cazoo Premier League victories at Night Eight in Newcastle.
After cruising past Jonny Clayton in the quarter-final, the Iceman defeated Chris Dobey 6-4 in the semi-final, despite the Newcastle native threatening a comeback in the later legs.
Van Gerwen reached the final despite a rocky start against Peter Wright, which saw the pair play out an entertaining tussle but ended with the Dutchman winning 6-5.
A 6-0 win against Nathan Aspinall in the semi-finals then set up a final against the Welshman, but Van Gerwen was blown away in a dominant display from Price that saw him average 114.96 and only drop one leg throughout the game.
Price said: "I knew what I was up against there, it was going to be tough against Chris there in the semi-finals but I knew if I could scrape through that one and put in a good performance against Michael, which I did.
"I'm a little disappointed that I lost that leg, I slipped up in only one or two pitches and it cost me, but glad I played really well and glad I got another win on the board.
"I knew how well I was playing (against Van Gerwen) but I had to keep it up, it's difficult sometimes and I just wanted to get over the winning line because I knew how quick things can change.
"You can play really well then things can change, then he can play really well and get back into the game.
"Even though I'm 5-1 up, the darts Michael can play, I know how well he can play and how quickly he can come back into games so I just wanted to get over the winning line as quick as I can.
"I felt like I was hitting trebles for fun, putting him under a lot of pressure which is good for me and obviously pretty difficult for him.
"As long as I kept doing it I knew that I was going to get over the winning line but I just didn't want to keep giving him leg after leg and then let the crowd get into the game, that would've been difficult for me."
Walking out to "Local Hero" throughout the evening, local lad Dobey fell short of a final on home soil after losing to Price in the final four.
Price was one leg away from winning but Dobey pulled back to win the next two games before the Iceman edged him out and the Geordie admitted it was still a special night for him.
Dobey said: "It was something special, it means a lot to me obviously being a big Newcastle fan to come and do that with the flags for me, it was pretty breathtaking.
"It took a few legs in the first game for me to settle myself because it did mean that much to me.
"[The crowd] were brilliant up there tonight and gave me the motivation to keep going.
"I was gone at 5-2 down and they were the ones that believed in me and got me through that game there, like I say, if I could've pinched that leg it could've been different story."
