Gerwyn Price is perhaps the biggest draw in darts at the moment, but it easy to forget that he was a relative latecomer to the professional scene.
The Welshman first tried to make a career in professional rugby, only taking darts seriously when that dream was ended. By 2016, his second full year on the tour, he was beginning to make major waves.
He had started to perform well at some of the biggest tournaments. With his antics on stage a new addition to the sport, many of the other players were immediately rubbed up the wrong way.
Adrian Lewis certainly fell into that category.
He played against Price at the World Matchplay in 2015, with the Englishman falling short on that occasion. When a meeting between the pair was set up in the same tournament the following year, the two exchanged some words on social media in the lead-up to the game.
It's fair to say that it resulted in some fairly frosty exchanges on stage.
Lewis was wound up before the game had even started, sarcastically clapping his opponent on a number of occasions throughout. They also exchanged some words at the end.
You can see some of the highlights in the video below.
There was definitely some bad blood there.
Lewis would go on to win the last-16 clash on a 11-5 scoreline, using the post-match interview to slag off his Price and labelling him as 'a nobody'.
I was rubbish and that just shows why he's a nobody. It's as simple as that...
I was just trying to take my time, hitting the right throws at the right time.
He showed up there and bottled it. It's as simple as that.
There's a difference between greatness and not so great. That showed tonight.
Of course, these comments look pretty funny in retrospect.
At the time, Adrian Lewis was a two-time world champion and still among the biggest names in the sport. In 2022, he hasn't appeared in a major final in over six year and currently sits in 33rd place in the world rankings. He is still only 37-years old.
In contrast, Gerwyn Price has gone on to establish himself as one of the most dominant forces in darts. He has won seven major televised titles since this game was played, including the World Championships in 2021.
It's safe to say that they have experienced contrasting fortunes since that night.
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