By Dylan Williams
Gerwyn Price missed four match darts as Rob Cross claimed a draw against Gerwyn Price in a dramatic conclusion to their Unibet Premier League contest at Arena Birmingham.
The Markham marksman missed opportunities at crucial times to claim a potentially vital win in his Premier League play-off charge.
The pair exchanged 100+ checkouts in the opening two legs with ‘The Iceman’ letting out an almighty roar as he took out 101 to silence the now expected pantomime booing which greets him at all his matches away from Cardiff.
Without doing much wrong Price found himself 3-1 down, only for the Welshman to take out legs of 12, 13 and 14 darts and a 90 finish to lead 5-3.
The Grand Slam Champion held his throw across the next four legs to secure at least a draw at 7-5.
A chance goes begging for Price!
The hardest switch on the double, they say… as Price misses D18 and D9 for the win. pic.twitter.com/94apdkenB7
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 25, 2019
Then came the turning point, three match darts at 36 went begging in the 13th leg meaning Price would have to throw for the match in the final leg.
He got to a double first but missed a dart at tops with Cross then taking out 52 to claim a share of the spoils.
Price was visibly annoyed at the conclusion of the match and refused to give an interview afterwards. At 3-1 down Price would’ve bitten your arm off for a draw, but 7-7 somehow feels like a point lost.
But opponent Cross admitted: “It’s a valuable point for me. It wasn’t my best game in the Premier League this year but I got the draw.
“I expected Gerwyn to hit the winning double and he would have deserved it, so it’s nice to get a bit of luck for once.”
Price, 34, posted a very respectable 101.18 three dart average while his late failure on the doubles saw him finish with a checkout percentage of 50 per cent.
Price moves onto 15 points – retaining his fourth position in the table.
And with three weeks of the regular league phase remaining, we’re guaranteed a few more twists and turns before the top four is decided.
Price will play third placed James Wade next week at The Manchester Arena.