Gerwyn Price crowned PDC world champion for the first time after beating two-time winner Gary Anderson 7-3 at Alexandra Palace

Gerwyn Price won his first PDC World Championship in a dominant 7-3 victory over two-time champion Gary Anderson at the Alexandra Palace. 

Having missed 11 match darts, an uncharacteristically nervous ‘Iceman’ composed himself to hit double five and win the Sid Waddell Trophy. 

Averaging just over 100, the 35-year-old hit 13 180s and 3+ 100 checkouts.

This impressive display caps off a perfect year for the Welshman seeing him reach No 1 in the world, ending Michael van Gerwen’s seven-year reign, after winning eight PDC titles in 2020. 

Price becomes the first Welshman to be world champion. The ex-professional rugby player also picked up a £500,000 prize fee. 

These two finalists have had an ongoing rivalry which came to blows in a controversial 2018 Grand Slam final, where Price won his first televised title. 

Anderson began well but, after missing three set darts, Price quickly pounced and won three legs on the bounce to win the first set.

However, this didn’t deter the ‘Flying Scotsman’ as he impressively fought back to take the second set, hitting a 180 followed up by a 134 checkout to level the match. 

The third set seemingly set the tone for the remainder of the match. Price rattled off three out of the four legs, in under 14 darts, with Anderson’s 170 checkout coming in vain. 

Set four began in the same tone as the previous set. The ‘Iceman’s’ perfection on double top saw his doubling percentage reach an immense 77% as he roared into a 3-1 lead. 

Price continued his superiority and in a case of déjà vu hit double 20 for the 10th time without fail as he further extended his lead to 4-1.

Any slim chance of a comeback from the 50-year-old, in his fifth world championship final, quickly vanished in the sixth set. Price narrowly missed double 12 for a nine-darter but a set average of 136.6, the highest ever in championship history, deflated Anderson as he watched Price storm on with a wry smile. 

Anderson did win the seventh but his hopes of a recovery were emphatically destroyed in the eighth as Price yet again hit double tops to regain a four-set advantage, leading 6-2.

Nerves began to overcome the ‘Iceman’ as he missed 10 match darts in the third leg of the ninth set while the Scotsman finally jumped on these errors. 

In the 10th, both players squandered key opportunities. Price wasted two more match darts but this went unpunished as Anderson missed three darts to keep the match alive. 

Price took a long pause and, after strolling past the trophy he’d soon be lifting, he rekindled his composure and hit the double five to become the new world champion. 

By Jon Bazley