Price is right about a follow-up triumph for Gerwyn

ITV4, 12.45pm & 7.30pm Friday

Gerwyn Price's graceless Grand Slam triumph on Sunday has split opinions in the darting world, but the one thing arrers fans can agree on is that they can’t wait for hostilities to resume at Butlin’s Minehead over the next three days.

The charmless Welshman ruffled plenty of feathers in Wolverhampton on his way to a riveting 66-1 triumph and given how easily he can wind up more talented opponents, he’s a hard man to leave off a shortlist for the Players Championship Finals.

Housed in his quarter of the draw are Adrian Lewis and Danny Noppert, players whose skin he has crawled under in recent times with his faintly laughable though clearly effective on-stage histrionics.

And this tournament, a 64-event man based on the Players Championship competitions throughout 2018, is one where outsiders flourish. Only last year Price’s compatriot, Jonny Clayton, reached the final as a 250-1 shot and previous winners include Paul Nicholson (80-1) and Kevin Painter (200-1).

Defending champion Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson, just as they were at last week’s Grand Slam, are in the same half of the draw which also features Rob Cross and Michael Smith.

That leaves Peter Wright as the favourite in the top half where Price has to be a threat.

It isn’t as though Gezzy’s success last weekend was a great surprise even if the manner of it was fairly unedifying. In the weeks leading into Wolverhampton he’d won the International Open and gone deep into the Grand Prix, European Championship and World Series. He seems to revel in his unpopularity so the chorus of boos that will ring around Butlin’s when he takes to the stage will only spur him on.

This event could come too soon for Anderson, the fall guy on the end of Price’s panto-villain routine on Sunday evening. It was head-shakingly obvious to everyone watching what was going to happen and the Scot, who throws his toys out of his pram far too often these days, duly flopped at odds-on.

As for Van Gerwen, he’s losing more than ever at the moment and doesn’t represent any kind of value at 5-4.

At bigger prices in the bottom half, Michael Smith and Dimitri van den Bergh are preferred.

Bully Boy continues to knock on the door of a big one and threw beautifully last week, winning his group before producing a 100-plus average in a narrow defeat at the hands of Mighty Mike in round two.

Van den Bergh also looked good with a nine-darter against Stephen Bunting before he came up short against Mensur Suljovic. Unlike Anderson, the young Belgian looks like the type of player who will learn from his failings against an awkward opponent and he can have another good tournament.

Recommendations
G Price
1pt each-way 33-1 general
M Smith
1pt each-way 25-1 general
D van den Bergh
1pt each-way 80-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

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