Gerwyn Price will be unable to wear ear defenders under new PDC regulations as he returns to Premier League Darts, which gets underway in Belfast on Thursday evening.
The Welsh star stole headlines at last month’s World Darts Championship when, midway through his quarter-final defeat to German Gabriel Clemens at Alexandra Palace, he returned wearing giant ear defenders to drown out the noise of the heckling crowd.
While the defenders may have silenced his detractors, Price ultimately lost the match which led to him posting a statement on Instagram saying that he may not compete in the competition again. The 37-year-old is now unable to use the ear defenders again as the PDC have opted to change the rules.
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Under their new regulations, the revised wording of the rule says: "Players are not permitted to wear earphones, headphones or headphone-type ear defenders during the throw at the bull prior to the match or during matchplay." The use of in-ear ear plugs is permitted however, with Mervyn King a prime example of those who use them.
Ahead of the Premier League opener at the SSE Arena, Price spoke about the rule changes but didn’t seem too disheartened by them.
He told Sky Sports: "I wore the ear defenders once and I won't be wearing them again. It's best left at that if I'm honest with you.
"I'm not a fan of in-ear plugs that Mervyn King wears. I've just got to grin and bear with whatever comes my way like I have the last couple of years, and just play darts.
Here's the line-up for the 2023 @CazooUK Premier League who will battle it out across 17 weeks, starting this Thursday in Belfast!
Be there 👉
"I'm here to play darts. I'm here to do the best I can, whatever is thrown at me. That's all I can do, so [I’m] looking forward to playing in Belfast and Cardiff next week. Hopefully I can reward the crowd again with some good darts and hopefully one or two nine-darters as well.
"I want to do well in the Premier League right now. I'm here to win. Right here, right now, this is where I play well."
Price gets his Premier League campaign underway with a quarter-final meeting against Nathan Aspinall in the Northern Irish capital and is priced at 8/15 to reach the semi-finals. Price to win the match, hit the most 180s and record the highest checkout is available at 3/1 with Betfred.
The winner of Aspinall vs Price will face either Peter Wright or Chris Dobey next.
World champion Michael Smith goes head-to-head with reigning Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen, repeating January’s blockbuster World Darts Championship final. Van Gerwen is chasing a record-breaking seventh Premier League title and is priced at 2/1 to make history.
The Dutchman is 4/6 to beat Smith while the current world number one is 6/5 to progress to the semis. Smith to win and hit the most 180s and highest checkout is priced at 9/2, while Van Gerwen is available at 6/1 to do the same.
The opening night of the Premier League is available on Sky Sports Main Event.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change | Odds Courtesy Of Betfred
