Welshman battles past Joe Murnan, Nathan Aspinall and Glen Durrant on Finals Day before conquering Matchplay champion Cross
Monday 16 September 2019 00:17, UK
Gerwyn Price retained his International Darts Open title, beating Rob Cross 8-6 in a thrilling final in Riesa.
The Iceman claimed his maiden European Tour title in Reisa last year and he returned to the German city to keep his hands on the trophy with a sparkling run that culminating in a classy final against Voltage
Price whose two other titles this year came with a Players Championship double in February, began his weekend's work on Saturday with a 6-4 win over Kyle Anderson and on Sunday the same scoreline accounted for Joe Murnan and then a quarter-final win over UK Open champion Nathan Aspinall, who had led 4-2.
He produced arguably his best display in the semi-finals against Glen Durrant, pulling clear from three-all to take a 7-3 victory with a 102 average and seven doubles from 13 attempts, including a key 144 checkout, as he moved into the decider.
The Welshman sealed the £25,000 first prize title in a see-saw final that saw Cross, who beat John Henderson, Joe Cullen, Richard North and Peter Wright on his way to the final, enjoy the better of the early stages.
A 12-dart break of throw saw Voltage in front early and a sensational 148 checkout saw him move 4-2 up. The Iceman's 121 got him back within a leg only for Cross to edge clear again at 5-3 before Price stepped up in style.
Some clutch third-dart doubling saw him take out the next three legs to move 6-5 up, punishing three misses from Cross in leg 11. Voltage recovered to level but Price followed a 177 with an 88 finish to edge 7-6 up before taking out 108 on tops to secure the title.
"It's the first time I've defended a title, so I'm over the moon," said Price, who will defend his Grand Slam of Darts title in November.
"Every game is like that [final] for me now and when I play people like Glen and the top players in the world like Rob, it's never going to be easy. I'm happy to get over the winning line.
"I had three weeks off and after the break, I wasn't very confident - I changed my darts, had a new set of darts and it seemed to work for me.
"I usually start pretty well at the beginning of the year and then taper off, hopefully that's a bit different this year. I'm a bit more confident now after winning this one.
"Maybe [I'll have] a weekend off next week and then I can look forward to Gibraltar and the rest of the year."
Phil Taylor, Rod Studd and Fallon Sherrock joined the Darts Show podcast this week to talk tungsten, and Taylor suggested that 13-year-old Leighton Bennett should be part of the Grand Slam line-up.
Rod Studd pondered the new schedule and believes the best in the game may need to look to tennis and golf's top professionals to manage the load and target the biggest prizes
Women's world No 4 Fallon Sherrock is targeting a place at Alexandra Palace and the World Championship after a season of near misses, while our resident two-time major champion Colin Lloyd believes Joe Cullen's recent title can see him kick on
It's not long to wait until darts is back on Sky Sports, the World Grand Prix gets underway on Sunday, October 6 at Dublin's Citywest Arena and seven days of coverage continues until the final on Saturday, October 12.
