Adrian Lewis and Gerwyn Price were involved in a heated exchange at the conclusion of their second-round match at the Czech Darts Open last night and had to be separated by the match referee.
Price allowed his frustrations to boil over having blown a 3-1 lead, letting Lewis turn the tables and win five legs in a row to advance to the third round thanks to a 6-3 win.
Lewis went to give Price a bear hug from behind at the conclusion of the match, but the Welshman didn’t enjoy this unusual post-match embrace.
Words were exchanged between the pair, with Lewis insisting that Price had called him a “fat something.†Lewis reacted and the players squared up as they continued to clash, with only the intervening ref preventing things from escalating further.
Price then left the stage and Lewis was able to enjoy his victory with the crowd.
This is far from the first incident where Price has had needle with his opponent; perhaps his nickname of ‘The Iceman’ is ironic as he has a reputation for losing his cool on a regular basis.
His first PDC major win at the Grand Slam of Darts back in January 2019 was marred by incidents in both his quarter-final against Simon Whitlock and in the final against Gary Anderson. These led to fines totalling £21,500 and a suspended three-month ban.
Further incidents followed in May 2019 with Daryl Gurney at the Premier League Darts and similar stories can be found throughout Price’s career.
As recently as December 2021, Price clashed with Kim Huybrechts on stage at the World Darts Championship with the referee once again having to separate the pair as tempers flared.
Price is the current world number two and a former world number one and world champion, why he continues to find himself in these exchanges is hard to fathom.
Gerwyn Price vs Adrian Lewis: Tempers flare at darts
Gerwyn Price vs Adrian Lewis: Tempers flare at darts
Whether it is a tactic to get himself geed up, an effort to put off his opponent, or if he just can’t control his emotions, it is an issue that he needs to get a handle of if he is to maximise the prodigious darting talent that he has.