Premier League Darts star blasts ‘pointless’ round and calls on PDC to find a new venues in now-deleted post after taking aim at playing conditions
Premier League Darts star Gerwyn Price has called on the PDC to stop going to the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam as he blasted conditions at the tournament.
The 40-year-old was beaten 6-3 by Nathan Aspinall in his quarter-final match on night 11 of the Premier League on Thursday night.
Chris Dobey eliminated Aspinall in the semi-finals and went on to claim overall victory on the night, beating Stephen Bunting 6-2 in the final.
Price took to social media following the event to criticise the event, which he claimed was ‘pointless’ due to the conditions in the venue.
The Iceman claimed ‘darts were blowing everywhere’ during the opening stages of his match against Aspinall.
Price called on the PDC to find an alternative venue in his now-deleted Instagram post.
Gerwyn Price has hit out at conditions at the latest Premier League Darts stop in Rotterdam
Price labelled the event ‘pointless’ with darts ‘blowing everywhere’ in a now deleted post
Nathan Aspinall, who beat Price in the quarter-finals, had also criticised conditions last year
‘Gutted for myself, gutted for everyone that supports me,’ Price wrote. ‘I’m so sorry but this week was pointless and we move to next week.
‘Darts were blowing everywhere and after leg one, which was lucky, I knew it’s pointless.
‘And where I was in the league after vital points it’s not what I wanted.
‘Hopefully, PDC will now stop coming here and look for alternative venues.
‘Not good for the players, not good for the fans and not good for people that like a bet. Onto next week where we get to play in decent conditions.’
Price is not the first star to raise issues conditions at the Ahoy Arena, with the venue having previously received criticism from players over wind.
Aspinall last year had claimed the venue was ‘the worst’ of the 16 Premier League stops, despite winning the event.
He had suggested the ‘bad conditions’ were due to the size of the over 16,000 capacity venue, with doors opening and closing as fans move around.
Chris Dobey claimed victory on night 11 of Premier League Darts at the Ahoy Arena
Dobey beat Stephen Bunting 6-2 in the final in Rotterdam to boost his play-off prospects
The PDC have responded to Price’s comments, stating other players had highlighted improved conditions from previous years.
‘We have worked hard with the venue to minimise the effect of any air movement,’ a PDC spokesperson told The Sun.
‘Which has been acknowledged by a number of players in tonight’s event, who have said that conditions have improved from previous years.’
World champion Luke Littler currently leads the Premier League standings on 30 points despite a semi-final loss to Bunting on Thursday.
Luke Humphries, Aspinall and Price complete the play-off spots as it stands, although the latter is level with Michael van Gerwen on 15 points.
Dobey’s victory saw him move onto 12 points alongside Rob Cross, with Bunting currently bottom of the standings on eight.
Liverpool will host the next round on April 24.
