Darts fans have booed Gerwyn Price ever since infamous Gary Anderson clash

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Gerwyn Price has been the ultimate pantomime villain of darts ever since his infamous run-in with Gary Anderson more than four years ago.

Following his ear-defenders stunt at the World Championship on New Year’s Day, the reaction Price receives from lively crowds will be one of the subplots during the 2023 Premier League, which gets underway tonight in Belfast.

His never-to-be-forgotten attempt to block out abuse from the Alexandra Palace audience during his quarter-final defeat to Gabriel Clemens backfired as the Iceman crashed out of the tournament 5-1.

READ MORE: Gerwyn Price begs fans to stop talking about his ear-defenders stunt at Ally Pally

The match proved to be the final straw for Price, who has threatened to never play in the World Championship again due to the abuse he routinely receives at Ally Pally in particular.

Price has come in for stick at other venues too. The vitriol aimed at him can be traced back to one of the most stormy matches of all time when he took on Anderson in the final of the Grand Slam in 2018.

In one of the most ill-tempered matches of all time, both players exchanged words on stage. Price was particularly animated with his celebrations. After nailing a crucial double, he got roared right in front of Anderson, prompting the Scot to shove him away.

On another occasion, Price held a finger to his lips to shush Anderson and waved him off at a break. The Welshman went on to win a thriller 16-13 and has won the Grand Slam twice more since. He also picked up the World Championship trophy in 2021.

However, even Price admits his antics during that match with Anderson turned many fans against him.

"When you're on stage you're up there to do a job – I'm not up there to make people hate me, but if that's the way they feel about my stage presence and the way I am then I can't help that," he told the Happy Hour Podcast last year.

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“It's all from that one game years ago, the 2018 Grand Slam final. Things happened between me and Gary [Anderson] and when I won the tournament the crowd started booing – even when I was lifting the trophy up – and it hasn't stopped since.

“It did calm down a little bit, but it's been hard work for the past two-and-a-half, three years.”

Price does at least have happy memories of tonight’s venue in Belfast, where he hit two nine-darters in one night last year. He opens his Premier League campaign with a quarter-final against Nathan Aspinall.

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• Gerwyn Price
• Darts

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