Gerwyn ‘The Iceman’ Price Wins Controversial Grand Slam Of Darts Final

Gerwyn ‘The Iceman’ Price Wins Controversial Grand Slam Of Darts Final

Gerwyn Price

In a Wales versus Scotland final, it was the Welshman Gerwyn ‘Iceman’ Price who triumphed after beating Gary ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson in one of the most heated darts finals ever.

In the 16-13 win, the Welshman, who started the week as a 50/1 outsider to claim his first major televised title, was accused of over-celebrating each point he scored which wound not only his opponent up but also the Aldersley Leisure Village fanbase who were all staunchly behind the Scotsman.

Living up to his casting as the pantomime villain, former rugby player Price who only took up darts in 2014, celebrated even the most mundane of throws. During the match, he taunted the crowd and cheered in his rival’s face, which at one point led to Anderson shoving Price. Even as he collected his trophy, the Wolverhampton crowd let out a chorus of boos.

It was a final that overshadowed Anderson’s own controversial quarterfinal. In his game against Dutchman Wesley Harms, Anderson accused, and was in turn accused himself, of truly dirty tactics and leaving a stink at the oche. Yes, the two opponents accused each other of farting as each one stepped up to take their turn. In one of the most bizarre sporting interviews in living memory, Anderson, who blew his opponent away 10-2, announced “I thought Wesley had farted on stage. You can put your finger up my arse, there will be no smell there. I thought he had s**t, and I went ‘Oh, that’s dirty.’” For his part, Harms says his poor performance was due to the whiffy atmosphere he himself had encountered at the oche, claiming, “It’ll take me two nights to lose this smell from my nose”.

As a consequence, Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson have both been referred to the Darts Regulation Authority. Going forward, all players could face punishments during matches in an effort to deter gamesmanship. Under proposed plans being considered by the PDC, a sliding scale of penalties could be introduced during a match, like in Tennis. A player could be warned for behaviour such as over-celebrating. As of yet, the punishment for a fart has yet to be announced.

Price ends MVG’s Grand Slam of Darts streak

In the final itself, which was Price’s second ever and last since the 2017 UK Open, the Iceman showed his true resilience. This was true to form for the Welshman after he made it through to the final following two incredible comebacks against Simon Whitlock in the quarter-final and Mensur Suljovic in the last four. Nevertheless, Price was still the massive underdog against Anderson, who had an impressive week that culminated in a semi-final 16-12 win over Michael van Gerwen, which put an end to Mighty Mike’s three-year reign as the Grand Slam of Darts champion.

The Flying Scotsman took the bait of Price’s histrionics at the oche, especially when he lost four legs on the spin to blow his 7-4 lead. He looked like he was back in control soon after as he raced into an 11-8 lead thanks to successive finishes of 72, 84 and 144. Price had other ideas, and just as he had earlier in the week when he came back from 9-5 down against Whitlock and 10-5 down against Suljovic, he fought back to remain in the game. Taking out 70, 78 and 130 over the next four legs brought the Iceman back to within one at 12-11.

Anderson won the next set to increase his lead to 13-11, but Price ran away with the next four legs to become the first man to lift the newly-named Eric Bristow trophy. Price is now priced at 40/1 with Betway to win the Darts World Championship that begin on December 13.

This year’s World Championships at Alexandra Palace will be notable for being the last appearance of five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld, who says he will retire after the event. 51-year-old Dutchman Barney is one of only three players to have won five world titles and has a total of 29 PDC titles over his career, including two UK Opens, the Grand Slam of Darts and the Premier League. RVB also won the British Darts Organisation (BDO) title in 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2005 before switching to the PDC. A golden send off for Barney is worth 50/1 at Betway right now.

Players Championship Finals betting tips

On Friday the 23rd of November, the last PDC event of the year before the World Championship takes place, as the annual Players Championship Finals return to Minehead.

The tournament represents the culmination of the 22 Players Championship qualifiers that took place around the UK between February and October, as well as those drafted from the Order of Merit. This is the eleventh staging of the tournament and will be broadcast live on ITV4.

As always with this event, there will be two stages of the competition, with the first stage getting underway on Friday with an all-Dutch battle between Jeffrey de Zwaan and Jelle Klaasen. The first two rounds of the competition are best of 11 legs, the third-round and quarterfinals are best of 19 legs, after which all games will be best of 21 legs. Adrian Lewis, James Wade and Daryl Gurney will all be featured in that first session. By the evening, the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Rob Cross and Gary Anderson will all be stepping up to the oche.

Michael van Gerwen, winner of four of the last five Players Championships, is one of 14 different winners on the tour this year, with the others being Gary Anderson (3), Krzysztof Ratajski (2), Peter Wright (2) and Ian White (2). Mensur Suljovic, who should be there, has withdrawn and will not be part of this weekend’s proceedings in Minehead after bowing out due to family reasons. Instead, his place in the line-up will be taken by Benito van de Pas, who was the next non-qualified player to have been registered.

Suljovic is the only absentee from the usual roster of big names who are led, as always, by Michael van Gerwen. Betway have priced the superstar Dutchman at 11/10 to win outright in the North East. World number two Gary Anderson is worth 7/2 and was playing like a boss last week in Wolverhampton before letting Price’s on-stage antics and Harms’ aroma get the better of him.

I would steer clear of Peter Wright, but should you fancy Snakebite, he is worth 9/1 at Betway whereas James Wade, on a good run until Wolverhampton, is priced at 12’s. Wade had been playing some of the best darts of his life since the middle of October. Last week he won all three of his group games at the Grand Slam before suffering a shock defeat to Michael Unterbuchner. During his winning run, he did overcome some of darts’ biggest names including Rob Cross, Simon Whitlock, Gerwyn Price, Raymond van Barneveld and Mensur Suljovic.

While he doesn’t boast the best record here, he has reached the semis before and the draw here has worked out favourably for him, avoiding the likes of Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson until the final, making him a good each way punt.

Rob Cross, who last year knocked out Wade in the quarterfinals, has shown some poor form this year, which has seen him drift as far wide as 28/1, a few points higher than Daryl Gurney’s 25/1. Last week’s hero and Grand Slam champion Gerwyn Price is 33/1.

Elsewhere, current Shanghai Masters champion and Darts Premier League runner-up, Michael Smith’s early season form is slowly starting to return, even making the final of the World Series, where he lost out to James Wade in a final-leg decider. Bully Boy also won three from three in the groups stage of the Grand Slam before running into Michael van Gerwen in the second round where he lost 10-8. He could well meet MVG and/or Anderson along the way but at 25/1, he could be an interesting outside bet.

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A Look At Friday At The Grand Slam of Darts

A Look At Friday At The Grand Slam of Darts

Grnad Slam of Darts Friday

Two out of four quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts will take place tonight in Wolverhampton as Dimitri Van den Bergh faces off against Mensur Suljovic before Simon Whitlock meets Gerwyn Price, all live on Sky Sports Action from 7pm. Tomorrow, Michael van Gerwen takes on Jonny Clayton while Gary Anderson matches up against Michael Unterbuchner, who this became only the 10th BDO player in Grand Slam of Darts history to reach the quarter-finals.

How did we get here? Well, last night, Michael van Gerwen beat Michael ‘Bully Boy’ Smith in an absolute epic, while elsewhere James Wade’s 13-game winning streak was ended by BDO star Michael Unterbuchner. MVG averaged 108 and hit eleven 180s but Bully Boy still managed to push him all the way, averaging three figures and six maximums plus duel ton+ checkouts in a match that ended 10-8 to the Dutchman. Going forward, Mighty Mike will now meet Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals after the Welshman won 10-3 against Krzysztof Ratajski, who himself beat van Gerwen in the group stages.

Gary ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson has arguably been the player of the tournament so far, having been in scintillating form and coming through the group stages winning 100% of his matches. Anderson took the decision to focus on major events and sit out the European Tour. It looks like this is a decision that is paying dividends as he aims to win the Grand Slam of Darts for the first time in his career. Anderson has enjoyed a fantastic season so far, which has seen him collect his maiden UK Open, World Matchplay and Champions League titles. Looking ahead, he now looks in good shape at Ally Pally, where he has been crowned World Champion twice previously. He makes the Quarters courtesy of a 10-2 smashing of Wesley Harms.

Simon Whitlock is remaining darter to have made it to the last eight and he goes tonight against Gerwyn Price, who overcame Josh Payne on Wednesday. On the same night, Whitlock was too good for Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright, winning against the Scotsman 10-6, while Mensur Suljovic dismissed PDC World Champion Rob Cross 7-10. The Gentle’s opponent, Dimitri Van den Bergh made it this far after beating Stephen Bunting 6-10 in match where the Belgian hit a stunning nine-darter and will be the first player stepping up to the oche tonight.

Grand Slam of Darts quarter final betting tips

Dimitri van den Bergh, World Youth champion, should still be riding a high following his nine-dart finish against Bunting but must now recompose himself for only his second televised quarter-final of his career. Last year, he made the World Championship quarter-final, losing out to eventual winner Rob Cross and tonight faces the increasingly impressive throwing of Mensur Suljovic, who ran out 8-2 the last time these two met.

As well as Suljovic is playing of late, he hasn’t hit a single 180 in his last two matches which is concerning but even then, the results have still been mostly strong. As the senior of these two competitors, experience and stamina — especially given the longer format of the matches — should come in to play and flip things firmly in the Austrian’s direction so we expect him to make the last four.

Next up tonight is Whitlock vs Price, a rematch from the group stage earlier this week which Whitlock won 5-4. The Australian has been in Grand Slam form as well, having made the quarterfinals twice previously in 2008 and 2009, while he also deservedly knocked out world No 2 Peter Wright in his previous match, so he is looking in great shape. Yet, I still think The Iceman could put the skids on the Wizard here. On that basis, I would expect both Price and Suljovic to progress to the semis where they should meet Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson in a jaw dropping last four.

For those looking for the latest outright prices on the Grand Slam of Darts from Betway, your numbers are as follows. Michael van Gerwen is an odds-on favourite at 8/11, Gary Anderson 3/1, Mensur Suljovic 8/1 and Gerwyn Price 16/1. 16/1 is also the best price on Simon Whitlock, while Dimitri van den Bergh is 18/1, Jonny Clayton 66/1 and finally the long shot available at the nice price of 100/1 is Michael Unterbuchner, the BDO’s sole representative.

Finally, everyone at BettingDarts would like to pay our respects to the family of PDC co-founder Tommy Cox who passed away aged 72 on Wednesday. Back in 1993, Cox linked up with Dick Allix and John Markovic along with 14 of the sport’s biggest names to form the World Darts Council which has since evolved in to today’s PDC.

Tommy Cox PDC passes away

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James Wade Wins World Series Of Darts Finals; MVG Goes Into 2018 Grand Slam Of Darts As 10:11 Favourite

James Wade Wins World Series Of Darts Finals; MVG Goes Into 2018 Grand Slam Of Darts As 10:11 Favourite

James Wade World Series of Darts

One week from putting an end to his half-decade wait for a TV championship win at the European Championship, James ‘The Machine’ Wade won another as he beat Michael Smith 11-10 in the final of the World Series of Darts Finals.

Wade’s TV double came in Vienna after a hard-fought match that only began to split after The Machine broke to a 10-9, only to miss two darts for the match. This fumble allowed Smith back in the match from where he managed to force a deciding leg where he would throw first. Just like his opponent at the oche, Bully Boy also dropped his two championship shots.

In a match where seemingly no one wanted to win, Wade couldn’t take out his required 141, instead, letting Smith in for three shots at the double 20. Missing all three, Wade returned to take out the double 18 in one shot to bring home the title, his second in as many weeks. The Machine, who knocked out Raymond van Barneveld in the semi-final, hit five 180s and averaged 97 in the match where he would win his ninth career TV title. Smith, who one round earlier dispensed of Welshman Gerwyn Price, would average 99 and hit five maximums.

A look at the Grand Slam of Darts matchups

This Saturday sees the Sky Sports-televised Grand Slam of Darts, which takes place at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton from November 10-18. This unique tournament features players from both the PDC and BDO, which is combining to make a field of 32 in a 24/8 split. The event’s structure sees eight groups of four in a round-robin phase make up a first round, before the remaining 16 players go through to the knockout stages. During the round robin phase, each player will face off against each other once in a best-of-nine legs match, with two points going to the winner.

Michael van Gerwen has been grouped with Jonny Clayton, Joe Murnan and Gary Robson in Group A, while Michael Smith headlines Group B with Raymond van Barneveld, Krzysztof Ratajski and Adam Smith-Neale.

The in-form James Wade faces a tough Group C that includes Keegan Brown, Mark Webster and Wesley Harms, while Group D pits Ian White, Steve Hine and Michael Unterbuchner against Gary Anderson. Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright, seeded second, leads Group E where his opponents will be Max Hopp, Josh Payne and Jim Williams.

BDO world champion Glen Durrant goes in Group F, along with Simon Whitlock, Gerwyn Price and Andrew Gilding, while Mensur Suljovic will be the favourite in Group G that includes qualifier Stephen Bunting plus Martin Schindler and Scott Mitchell. Reigning PDC world champion Rob Cross will meet Ryan Searle and Mark McGeeney along with hot prospect Dimitri van den Bergh in Group H.

Grand Slam of Darts Betting Tips

Despite not being quite as dominant in the second half of this year, three-time defending champion Michael van Gerwen is the 10/11 favourite to lift the trophy for the fourth year in a row. The PDC world number one showed his class with last month’s World Grand Prix triumph, however, and it’s up to the likes of Gary Anderson, Peter Wright to stop him. Worryingly for the challengers though is that the format of this event suits the 29-year-old Dutchman — is there one that doesn’t? — who can utilise his three group matches to gather momentum as the competition goes on.

Of course, the same can be said for world number one and three Gary ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson and Peter Wright. Anderson, in particular, offers the biggest threat to Mighty Mike and Betway have installed a 5/1 price on his head to win the tournament. Don’t discount a rejuvenated James Wade, fresh from his dual wins on the European circuit in Dortmund and Vienna. Betway are offering 20/1 on Wade and 9/1 on Wright to win outright. Mensur Suljovic is the other name worth considering this coming week after such an improved season. He can be picked up for 18/1.

Glen Durrant is my pick of the BDO qualifiers at 33/1 after reaching the quarter-finals last year, although emulating Scott Waites as the only other past winner from the BDO is a very tall order. In fact, Betway have priced any winner from the BDO at 20/1. Rob Cross fans can back their boy at 14/1, while Michael Smith, still looking for his first televised win, is available on 20/1, which is 30 points away from Gerwyn Price’s 50/1, again at Betway.

Group A

  • Michael van Gerwen (1)
  • Jonny Clayton
  • Joe Murnan
  • Gary Robson

Group B

  • Michael Smith (8)
  • Raymond van Barneveld
  • Krzysztof Ratajski
  • Adam Smith-Neale

Group C

  • James Wade (5)
  • Keegan Brown
  • Mark Webster
  • Wesley Harms

Group D

  • Gary Anderson (4)
  • Ian White
  • Steve Hine
  • Michael Unterbuchner

Group E

  • Peter Wright (2)
  • Max Hopp
  • Josh Payne
  • Jim Williams

Group F

  • Simon Whitlock (7)
  • Gerwyn Price
  • Andrew Gilding
  • Glen Durrant

Group G

  • Mensur Suljovic (6)
  • Stephen Bunting
  • Martin Schindler
  • Scott Mitchell

Group H

  • Rob Cross (2)
  • Dimitri Van den Bergh
  • Ryan Searle
  • Mark McGeeney

Fixtures

Wednesday November 14

  • Second Round (Best of 19 legs)

Thursday November 15

  • Second Round (Best of 19 legs)

Friday November 16

  • Quarter-finals (Best of 31 legs)

Saturday November 17

  • Quarter-finals (Best of 31 legs)

Sunday November 18

  • Semi-finals (Best of 31 legs)