Gerwyn Price is the ultimate pantomime villain. An absolutely outstanding player, his antics on stage make him an easy target for the crowd.
The Welshman certainly does not hide his emotions, something that can rub both opposition players and the fans up the wrong way at times. As a result, the boos have often rained down on him on the biggest occasions.
When did it all start? Speaking on the Happy Hour Podcast, Price said the boos really took off after his controversial Grand Slam final victory over Gary Anderson in 2018.
It's all from that one game years ago. It was the 2018 Grand Slam final, obviously things happened between me and Gary Anderson.
I won the tournament and the crowd started booing, even when I was lifting the trophy up. It hasn't really stopped since. It did calm down a little bit, but it has been hard work for the last three years really...
It wasn't really an argument. It was a bit of friction on stage, it was coming towards the end of the game and we were both probably a bit too boisterous.
As always, if I hit something good on stage I like to show my emotions. I probably showed it a bit too much in that game at times, but I was just caught up in the moment.
That match was certainly a controversial one.
Price is never one to shy away from some confrontation, although even he would admit that he overstepped the mark on this occasion. Anderson certainly wasn't pleased with his conduct, leading to some unsavoury moments.
😯 @GezzyPrice has been handed a punishment from the Darts Regulation Authority for THIS behaviour at the Grand Slam of Darts... 😯
Full details here: https://t.co/qfFlyLYwzM pic.twitter.com/KXfXY2h3v2— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 23, 2019
This cemented Price's tag as the villain of the sport, a role he seems to thrive in.
Gerwyn Price considered his future in darts after Dublin defeat
However, the reception he often receives has affected him in the past. In fact, he even revealed that he considered his future in the sport after one particularly hostile atmosphere in Dublin helped contribute to him blowing a commanding lead against Dave Chisnall back in 2019.
Yeah 100 per cent (the boos have put him off).
I remember in Ireland in the Grand Prix, I was playing Dave Chisnall. I was one or two sets up, I was a set away from winning and the crowd were on my back.
It was tough because Chisnall came back and beat me. I was thinking 'do I want to this anymore, is it worth it'. That was rock bottom.
Then I thought no just dig deep and things will change. It hasn't changed much, but I've learned to deal with it. I've had to because I've been chucked in the deep end.
After what happened in 2018, I went to the Premier League the year after and you had 10,000 people booing you. It made me concentrate because you haven't just got to beat the player, you've got to beat the crowd as well. It made me a better player...
It doesn't help when I give it to the crowd and then the next time they're ten times worse! I bring it on myself sometimes...
I've tried to be something that I'm not on stage. What I mean by that is when I knew that people didn't like the way I was naturally on stage, I tried to tone it down and be something I wasn't. It just wasn't working for me, I was trying to stop myself from celebrating and showing emotions and my darts were just rubbish.
I've just got to take it on the chin, do the best I can and do what I do. I don't go up there to try and put on a show, it just comes naturally.
Gerwyn Price has only gone from strength to strength since then, winning a World Championship, as well as a number of other major titles and establishing himself as the number one ranked player in the sport.
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