(Photo : Luke Walker/Getty Images)
Gerwyn Price clinched a jaw-dropping win in the finals of the PDC World Championship 2021.
The Iceman clinched his first title in the PDC World Championship after defeating Gary Anderson in a skillful 7-3 win at the Alexandra Palace in London.
Price becomes world no. 1
Price's victory not only made his New Year an explosive celebration but also earned him the world no. 1 ranking, ending top seed Michael Van Gerwen's seven-year reign in darts.
The win was Price's sixth major title over the past two years.
"I've never ever felt pressure like that in my life. I think it's going to take a couple of days to sink in. I'm walking on cloud now - it means the world," the Welshman said.
Surprisingly, darts was not the sport that Price originally grew up with. He was a former professional rugby union player of Neath and Cross Keys. He had played with the Glasgow Warriors at Pro14 and joined the South Wales Scorpions in the rugby league.
In 2014, Price decided to call it quits with rugby to focus on a new sport, darts, wherein he will be hailed later as a champion.
The shift from rugby to darts made him the king of the hill now. Besides Price and Van Gerwen, only eight players had stepped in the PDC World No. 1 Rank. These are Rod Harrington, Raymond van Barneveld, Colid Lloyd, Peter Manley, John Part, Dennis Priestley, Phil Taylor, and Allan Warriner.
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Price beats Gary Anderson for the second time
The rivalry of the two continued, but in the end, Price reigned supreme over Anderson.
The 35-year-old darter crawled from his errors earlier. Gerwyn Price lapsed into 11 missed darts before landing the points at the 12th mark with a double five.
The clash between Price and Gary Anderson was the first time since the highly controversial final in the history of darting. It was in 2018 when Price took the Eric Bristow trophy. The Welsh grabbed £110,000 in the elusive win.
As Price fell to misfires, the 50-year-old Anderson started strong until he missed three darts in the first leg. Price took his time to pounce on the Scot's errors to dominate the next three rounds.
The second set saw Anderson's dominance after a 180-throw in 128 checkout. Anderson never wavered and ousted Price's 78 checkout to net three legs for an even score.
However, Anderson's life at the party was spoiled by a recovering Price, who ricocheted in set three with 12 impressive darts. Price set the pace of the match at 2-1 even as Anderson finished at 170.
Price continued to gnaw the obstacles with his perfect 8-8 double top in 77 percentage in doubles. The Welsh never glanced at Anderson's score and took the fourth set.
Extending his advantage at 4-1, Price scored the double 20 in 10 attempts followed by an 11-darter en route to a double-20 for the second time. The bullseye on 161 put the nail in Anderson's coffin.
The former rugby player claimed the sixth set with the highest average of 136.6 in the championship history after missing double 12 on his ninth dart.
Anderson still chased Price at 5-2, then went to win the set for a decider. But the time was not for Anderson, as his pursuit for his third trophy failed to make a 134 checkout. Anderson wasted three darts, but Price only missed two.
Price sealed the deal with the two-time champion after he pocketed £500,000 in the tournament.
"You get beat in the final - yes it's disappointing but to get to the final in the first place was a pat on the back for myself," Anderson said.
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