By Gareth James

Gerwyn Price is determined to bounce back to winning ways by going one better than last year and claiming the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals crown.

The 35-year-old saw his bid for a Grand Slam of Darts hat-trick ended by a last 16 defeat against Nathan Aspinall.

But Price is back in action on Friday night at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena with a last 64 round match against John Henderson.

The Markham darter is a joint-favourite for the title with Michael van Gerwen who he narrowly lost to in last year’s final.

“Having held the Grand Slam title for two years, of course it hurt to lose,” said Price, seeded two for the event.

“But as soon as that game was over I put it behind me and turned my focus to this tournament.

“The Players Championship Finals is a tournament I like. I did really well here last year but came up just short in the final, hopefully I can go one better this time.”

Fellow Welsh darter Jonny Clayton cruised through his first-round match with a 6-2 victory over Mickey Mansell.

The Pontyberem darter averaged over 101 and could not face defending champion van Gerwen in the next round.