Welsh darts star Gerwyn Price made a commanding start to his 2025 PDC World Darts Championship campaign on Tuesday night, sweeping aside Adam Gawlas in straight sets at London's Alexandra Palace.
Dominant Display Sees Price Through
In a one-sided first-round encounter, Price romped to a 3-0 victory to book his place in the second round. Despite some struggles on the doubles, missing 17 of his 26 attempts, the former world champion's scoring power was immense. He fired in six maximum 180s and sealed the win with his second 120 checkout of the match, finishing with a solid 96.44 three-dart average.
Rare Crowd Support Fuels Welshman
A notable feature of the match was the vocal backing for Price from the Ally Pally crowd, a contrast to some of his previous receptions at the venue. The Welshman was visibly lifted by the support, which included chants of his name throughout the contest.
"I don’t usually get this (crowd support), so thank you very much," Price told Sky Sports afterwards. "The fans have been great for me the last 18 months, two years, and to come here and get the support like I have... Honestly, if I win the million (first prize), it’s not going to change my life, but I want to win trophies. I want to be back in the top four in the world."
Second Round Awaits as Dutch Duo Progress
Price's victory sets up a second-round tie against Dutch player Wesley Plaisier. The winner of that match will move a step closer to the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy and the £1 million top prize.
Elsewhere on Tuesday's order of play, Danny Noppert also advanced. The Dutchman recovered from a slow start to defeat his compatriot Jurjen van der Velde 3-1. Van der Velde had arrived on stage armed with a can of insect repellent following a wasp incident at the venue the previous day, but it wasn't enough to stop Noppert's progress.
The evening's other results saw Germany's Ricardo Pietreczko produce a fine 3-1 win over the impressive Jose de Sousa, while Australia's Joe Comito caused an upset by beating Niko Springer 3-1 in the final match of the session.
