Day three of Winter Series sees Price win eighth title of 2020
Gerwyn Price won his eighth title of 2020 on day three of the PDC Winter Series.
The Iceman battled hard all day, eventually prevailing 8-6 in the final against Australian Damon Heta at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
Price, having won the World Cup of Darts on Sunday alongside Welsh teammate Jonny Clayton, will have the day off tomorrow before playing in Saturday’s event. He’s now moved back to the number one seed position for the Players Championship Finals later this month.
Elsewhere, day three of the Winter Series saw:
- A maiden semi final for Callan Rydz
- Vincent van der Voort close the gap to Jermaine Wattimena for the Grand Slam spot
- A whole host of big names fall in round one again
- Another nine darter at the event
Iceman victorious despite not being at his best
After going out early in the first two days, Gerwyn Price was determined to put things right on day three of the Winter Series. After receiving a bye in round one, he opened his campaign with a tight 6-5 win over Reece Robinson. He won board one with a 6-1 victory against Gavin Carlin.
Price then picked up the pace in the next two rounds. A 6-0 win against Jeff Smith, and then a 6-4 victory over Stephen Bunting, saw him into the semi finals against William O’Connor. There, Price broke in the first leg and never looked back, cruising to a 7-3 win.
That set up a final against Heta, who had averaged below 95 just once during the day prior in his 7-5 semi final victory over Callan Rydz. Price seized advantage in the first leg, breaking to go 1-0 up. However, The Iceman missed three darts to hold his throw, allowing the Heat to immediately break back to level at 1-1.
Heta had won his previous two finals before this one, and looked at home in this match. He held throw well, but could not take the opportunities presented to him on Price’s throw as the match reached to 3-3. Price then started to find his scoring, as both players continued to hold solidly to get the game to 5-5.
Price thought he found the crucial break in the 11th leg. Leaving 40 after 12, he hit tops to go 6-5 up. However, once again he missed darts to consolidate the break, allowing Heta to hit double 19 to level once again at 6-6.
The Heat though could not find a finish from 100 in the next leg, allowing the Welshman to break once again with a 66 checkout. The 14th leg saw both players miss multiple darts, but Price eventually hit double five to seal an 8-6 win and take home Players Championship 21.
What else happened?
A first senior semi final run for Callan Rydz saw him all but secure his place in the Players Championship Finals later this month. He needs one win tomorrow to move onto £10,000 in the Order of Merit, which will be enough to get back to Coventry.
Vincent van der Voort made the last 16 on day three of the Winter Series, but could not beat Ian White to move into the quarter finals. This leaves him £250 behind Jermaine Wattimena in the race for the 2020 BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts spot on the Winter Series Order of Merit.
Krzysztof Kciuk made a maiden PDC Pro Tour quarter final, becoming the 300th different player to do so. He’s had an excellent week so far, and continues to push for a potential Grand Slam and Players Championship Finals place.
For the second day running, a number of big names fell in round one. These included:
- Gabriel Clemens
- Krzysztof Ratajski
- Devon Petersen
- Jose De Sousa
- Rob Cross
- Joe Cullen
- Dave Chisnall
In addition, Peter Wright and James Wade both suffered exits in round two.
Finally, congratulations to Nick Kenny, who became the third player to hit a nine darter at the event. He achieved the feat in his 6-3 defeat to World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Day Two Results
Final
Gerwyn Price 8-6 Damon Heta
Semi Final
Gerwyn Price 7-3 William O’Connor
Damon Heta 7-5 Callan Rydz
Quarter Final
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Stephen Bunting
William O’Connor 6-3 Ryan Searle
Callan Rydz 6-2 Ian White
Damon Heta 6-2 Krzysztof Kciuk
Round Four
Gerwyn Price 6-0 Jeff Smith
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Jan Dekker
Ryan Searle 6-4 Madars Razma
William O’Connor 6-5 Jonny Clayton
Callan Rydz 6-5 Simon Whitlock
Ian White 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Krzysztof Kciuk 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
Damon Heta 6-4 Ross Smith
Round Three
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Gavin Carlin
Jeff Smith 6-2 Ryan Murray
Jan Dekker 6-5 Steve Brown
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Scott Taylor
Madars Razma 6-1 Ted Evetts
Ryan Searle 6-4 Glen Durrant
William O’Connor 6-4 Martijn Kleermaker
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Keane Barry
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Jim Williams
Callan Rydz 6-2 Brendan Dolan
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Andy Boulton
Ian White 6-4 Ritchie Edhouse
Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Ryan Joyce
Krzysztof Kciuk v Mervyn King
Ross Smith 6-4 Michael Smith
Damon Heta 6-3 Justin Pipe
Round Two
Gerwyn Price 6-5 Reece Robinson
Gavin Carlin 6-5 John Michael
Ryan Murray 6-5 Ciaran Teehan
Jeff Smith 6-0 Aaron Beeney
Jan Dekker 6-2 Matthew Dennant
Steve Brown 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Scott Taylor 6-4 Martin Schindler
Stephen Bunting 6-4 David Pallett
Ted Evetts 6-4 Darren Webster
Madars Razma 6-3 Jitse Van der Wal
Glen Durrant 6-5 Scott Mitchell
Ryan Searle 6-3 Christian Bunse
William O’Connor 6-5 James Wade
Martijn Kleermaker 6-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Keane Barry 6-3 William Borland
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Peter Wright
Jim Williams 6-4 Maik Kuivenhoven
Brendan Dolan 6-1 Jelle Klaasen
Callan Rydz 6-5 Daryl Gurney
Andy Boulton 6-5 Max Hopp
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Josh Payne
Ian White 6-1 Robert Thornton
Ritchie Edhouse 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 David Evans
Ryan Joyce 6-2 Carl Wilkinson
Krzysztof Kciuk 6-4 Mike De Decker
Mervyn King 6-1 Daniel Larsson
Michael 6-1 Wayne Jones
Ross Smith 6-3 Matt Clark
Justin Pipe 6-2 Danny Noppert
Damon Heta 6-5 Niels Zonneveld
Round One
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Reece Robinson
Gavin Carlin 6-3 Chris Dobey
John Michael 6-4 Boris Krcmar
Ryan Murray 6-2 Gabriel Clemens
Ciaran Teehan 6-3 Steve West
Jeff Smith 6-4 Jamie Hughes
Aaron Beeney 6-5 Joe Murnan
Jan Dekker 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Matthew Dennant 6-5 Darius Labanauskas
Jermaine Wattimena 6-1 Robert Collins
Steve Brown 6-4 Mickey Mansell
Martin Schindler 6-2 Devon Petersen
Scott Taylor 6-4 Darren Penhall
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Luke Woodhouse
David Pallett 6-5 Michael Barnard
Ted Evetts 6-1 Jose De Sousa
Darren Webster 6-2 Adam Hunt
Madars Razma 6-5 Peter Jacques
Jitse Van der Wal 6-2 Yordi Meeuwisse
Glen Durrant 6-5 Kai Fan Leung
Scott Mitchell 6-1 Jonathan Worsley
Ryan Searle 6-1 Bradley Brooks
Christian Bunse 6-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez
James Wade 6-2 Simon Stevenson
William O’Connor 6-3 James Wilson
Martijn Kleermaker 6-4 Richard North
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-3 Nick Kenny
William Borland 6-4 Rob Cross
Keane Barry 6-4 Ryan Meikle
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Kirk Shepherd
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-5 Jason Lowe
Peter Wright 6-0 Ron Meulenkamp
Simon Whitlock 6-0 Derk Telnekes
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-4 Mark McGeeney
Jim Williams 6-2 Gary Blades
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Richie Burnett
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Matthew Edgar
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Luke Humphries
Callan Rydz 6-3 Marko Kantele
Andy Boulton 6-2 Joe Cullen
Max Hopp 6-0 Barrie Bates
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Scott Baker
Josh Payne 6-4 Scott Waites
Ian White 6-5 Martin Atkins (Wigan)
Robert Thornton 6-5 Toni Alcinas
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Steve Lennon
Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 Steve Beaton
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Adrian Gray
David Evans 6-5 Ricky Evans
Ryan Joyce 6-1 Conan Whitehead
Carl Wilkinson 6-4 Maikel Verberk
Mike De Decker 6-3 Dave Chisnall
Krzysztof Kciuk 6-1 Benito van de Pas
Mervyn King 6-4 Alan Tabern
Daniel Larsson 6-5 John Henderson
Michael Smith 6-1 Harald Leitinger
Wayne Jones 6-5 Kevin Doets
Ross Smith 6-2 Keegan Brown
Matt Clark 6-2 Kim Huybrechts
Danny Noppert 6-3 Lisa Ashton
Justin Pipe 6-5 Jesus Noguera
Damon Heta 6-5 Adrian Lewis
Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Andy Hamilton
Gerwyn Price received a bye into round two, as Gary Anderson withdrew due to a knee injury.
