“I’ve never felt such pressure in my life”: Gerwyn Price shows his relief after holding his nerve to win his first PDC world title and a £ 500,000 prize by beating two-time champion Gary Anderson
- Gerwyn Price won his first PDC world title on Sunday
- The Welshman won the London final 7-3 against long-time rival Gary Anderson
- Price went 1-0 against the Scotsman but won the next five sets in an excellent manner
Gerwyn Price defeated Gary Anderson 7-3 on Sunday evening, making him the first Welshman to win the PDC World Championship.
The 35-year-old will also become the new number 1 in the world after holding his nerve in an exciting competition against two-time champion Anderson at Alexandra Palace.
Price stormed 5-1 in the best of 13 final, and while stalling with the title in sight, Anderson couldn’t capitalize on it.
Gerwyn Price (above) is the new PDC world champion after a 7-3 victory over Gary Anderson
“It will be a few days before it kicks in,” Price told Sky Sports. ‘I’m on cloud nine. I can’t even speak. That means the world to me.
“I looked at the scoreboard and it was 6-3 and I thought, ‘I have a couple of arrows, hopefully I can get more chances. “
“But I’ve bombed numerous opportunities thinking, ‘Please give me one more chance,’ and I had to miss Gary to give myself one more opportunity.
‘Double Five is almost Double Top, but it’s not my favorite. I’ve never felt such pressure in my life. It was tough to win the doubles. ‘
Price (left) defeated rival Anderson (right) despite a nervous ending and 11 missed match darts
Price, who scored 180s compared to Anderson’s 10 13, appeared to be on his way to his first world crown but stumbled across the finish line after missing a total of 11 match darts.
In the penultimate set, Price failed double 10 and double five to secure the triumph and seemed to have missed his chance when Anderson made the first two legs in the final set.
But Price still hit harder than his opponent and when he needed a double five to win in the decisive leg, he stepped back from the oche before finally hitting the winning target.
Anderson was struck by his own performance but admitted that he did not expect to reach the final.
“To be beaten in the final, yes disappointing, but to even reach the final was a pat on the back for me,” he told Sky Sports.
Price fell behind after the opening set but won the next five to take control of the London final
“I just couldn’t triple that arrow tonight. Double, cruel, but that’s exactly what happens, if you do that you get hit. But what I did this week is a huge bonus for me. ‘
Price took an early lead after coming down 2-0 to secure the first set 3-2 after Anderson missed four arrows to seal him in the third leg.
Anderson stopped the tide after losing four straight legs, shot a 180, followed by a 128 finish to reach the second leg in the second set, then won the next three legs to improve it 1-1 .
Price drove through the next three sets to take a 5-1 lead, landing his 13th straight double top finish to win the first two legs in the seventh set.
Anderson stopped the putrefaction in the seventh set after losing six consecutive legs to pull them back to 5-2 and then 6-3 when Price lost momentum and began to sway.
But the Scot could not take advantage of it in the 10th set and missed a 2-0 lead before Price finally landed the match dart on the 12th attempt.
