Gerwyn Price has criticised the preparation time he received before his World Series of Darts final defeat to Ross Smith, calling the situation a "p***take". The Welshman lost 11-5 to Smith earlier this month, missing out on the £100,000 grand prize but collecting £60,000 as runner-up.
Rematch at World Grand Prix
Price now faces Smith again in the second round of the World Grand Prix on Wednesday, after defeating Sebastian Bialecki 2-0 in his opening match. The 41-year-old said he will be "10 times better" in the rematch, claiming he had only ten minutes to prepare for the final in Amsterdam.
"I've got a little bit more time on my hands now between games. The final last week is probably a little bit of a p***take. You get 10 minutes in between the game, and it's not right," Price said. "Especially when the other players had a good hour to prepare. I was probably a little bit burned out in that final. So I will be 10 times better on Wednesday."
Dislike for the format
Price also expressed his disdain for the double-in, double-out format used at the World Grand Prix, where players must hit a double to start and finish each leg. "I hate this event; I hate the set format, and I hate the double-in, but then I seem to play well," he explained.
"I just seem to probably put a bit more effort into leading up to it, which I have now this year. I probably started practicing a month before with the double in and double out. I just seem to probably concentrate and zone in a little more on this event because I don't like it. I seem to do pretty well."
Perspective outside darts
Price, who owns a chip shop called 'Chippy 501' in his hometown of Markham, said tournament defeats no longer affect him as heavily as they did earlier in his career. "I'm here to win, but if I don't win, it's not a be-all and end-all," he added.
"I've got other things going on. If I win tournaments, happy days. If I lose, then I'll just move on to the next one. I'm here to win, and I give 110%. If I lose, I'm absolutely devastated, but it won't dwell on me too long, I don't think, anymore."
The World Grand Prix has already seen early exits for Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen. World No. 1 Littler lost 2-1 to Luke Woodhouse in the opening round, while six-time winner Van Gerwen fell to a 2-1 defeat against Ryan Joyce.
