There was no talk of the explosive finish to the World Matchplay clash between Gerwyn Price and Dary Gurney when the Welshman sat down for his post-match press conference last night. In fiery scenes, Price took out 81 with just two darts to seal a 10-7 win and set up a second-round match with Chris Dobey.
After nailing double 12, the former world champion celebrated wildly, performing his customary double fist bump and screaming loudly. The behaviour seemed to annoy Gurney, who responded by turning to the crowd and mocking Price’s actions. The ill-feeling escalated moments later when they came together on stage.
During an aggressive handshake, heated words were exchanged. After pulling away from each other, they continued to exchange verbals in front of the match officials.
Price, 40, then pointedly walked past his rival and performed more emphatic celebrations. However, the media did not ask questions about the Gurney incident afterwards, with Price instead focusing on how he kept his composure during a tight match.
“Five, six, seven years ago, that game probably could have got away from me and just slipped away,” he said. “I’ve learned to just try and keep my emotions intact at key points, and I did it today.”
Darts reporter Phil Barrs later clarified why the issue was not discussed, writing on X: “We were told before the press conference that no questions were allowed about what happened on stage.”
Price did seem to see the funny side later on. On Instagram, he implied that he could no longer risk getting involved in spats following his weight loss, posting: “Have to be careful these days. I’m down to light cruiser weight.”
Only last month, relations between Gurney and Price were respectful after Northern Ireland beat Wales in the World Cup of Darts final in Germany. Gurney’s team-mate that night, Josh Rock, has weighed in on the controversy by saying: “Daryl, I think, saw the funny side in it and Gezzy didn’t.”