Premier League glory & chips – Price’s 10-year plan

With a Premier League play-off spot already secured prior to his contest with Stephen Bunting in Aberdeen on Thursday night, Gerwyn Price is a man content with the state of his game at present.

The Welshman sits third in the table – behind world champion Luke Littler and world number one Luke Humphries – having shone so far in a campaign that includes nightly wins in Dublin, Nottingham and Liverpool.

The 40-year-old is now in his seventh Premier League campaign and Price is targeting glory for the first time, having come closest in 2023 when he was edged out by Michael van Gerwen at London’s O2 Arena.

“It’s all on the night, everybody knows that. One minute you can play brilliantly and the next it’s not there,” he told BBC Sport Wales.

Form has been key for ex-world champion Price, who struggled to hit peak levels in 2024 and sought the help of a sports psychologist before the World Championship.

The former rugby player feels he has benefited greatly, having won three Players Championship titles already this year in addition to his trio of night victories in the Premier League.

“I think it definitely helped, just before the World Championship having a chat to a sports psychologist for a couple of weeks and during the World Championship,” he explained.

“I haven’t spoken to him since. But my mind and the way I think now having had a lot of help from him, it’s definitely helped me out.

“I think a lot better, I’m a lot more positive, not just in darts but in life in general.”

Such has been the transformation in the three-time Grand Slam champion’s mindset, Price no longer sticks to some of his previously preferred pre-match rituals.

“Even those little things where I’d put my case and the bottle top in the centre of the table, everything had to be the same, I’ve gone away from that,” he explained.

“Being too precise can put you under a bit of pressure, thinking that everything has to fall perfect, but it doesn’t.

“Every leg isn’t going to be perfect, nothing has to be perfect, you just have to do the right things at the right time.

“I don’t know if anybody’s noticed lately but I don’t put the cap in the middle of the table, I just leave my darts case all wonky.

“I used to have to have the case zip on the left-hand side, sometimes I leave it open now just because, if I come through that game, it’s nothing to do with that, it’s just psychological.”

It all helps to explain why Price has been more of a force again of late, and even his life away from the oche is contributing at present.

Price opened up his own takeaway, named Chippy 501, in his hometown of Markham last year and regularly gets behind the counter to serve customers in his local community.

“It’s literally right next door to the house,” he said.

“When I’m sat in and bored, I’ll just get in there and get cooking to help out.

Having won 12 televised PDC titles, including the 2021 World Championship, the calendar’s showpiece event, and a further 26 non-televised events, Price has already cemented his place among the sport’s greats.

Significant financial rewards have come with that success, some of which Price invested into his own business to provide further future stability for his wife and two daughters.

And while he knows he could already walk away from the game, Price still believes he can compete with the likes of Littler and Humphries for another decade yet.

“I could probably finish [playing darts] now but that’s not what I want to do. I’ve got another 10 years in me I think,” he explained.

“By the time I’m 50, I’ll probably look to wind down.

“I’ll go hard for the next five to 10 years and then start to chill out.”