'I was winding him up. I said, ‘I’m king of nine-darters': Gerwyn Price recalls light-hearted Mike de Decker exchange before missed perfect leg

Gerwyn “Gezzy” Price produced a high-quality display to book his place in the quarter-finals of the 2025 New Zealand Darts Masters, averaging 103.6 in a 6–4 victory over New Zealand’s Jonny Tata.

While the scoreline suggested a tight contest, Price felt he should have wrapped things up earlier. “At 4–4, I felt like I probably should have already won the game,” Price admitted. “I was playing really well, but there were timely moments for Jonny which kept him in the game — good for him, but it probably should have been over.”

Price’s average topped three figures for much of the match, but the Welshman was quick to dismiss the idea that such form guaranteed momentum going forward. “Every day is different,” he said. “You can’t really take anything from today apart from a little bit of confidence in myself. Tomorrow is a different day and hopefully I can play just as well or even better.”

The former world champion also came within a whisker of a nine-darter, narrowly missing double 12. He revealed a light-hearted backstage exchange had been on his mind during the attempt. "After Mike had missed, I said, ‘Why didn’t you go for the treble 19?’ He said something back — I can’t remember what — but I was winding him up. I said, ‘I’m king of nine-darters,’ and he went, ‘Oh, you’d have missed.’ Then, when I was going for it, I was thinking of him. It’s weird — if I hadn’t mentioned anything backstage, I probably would have hit it.”

Price also praised the atmosphere inside Auckland’s new venue. “The atmosphere was buzzing,” he said. “The crowd were quite vocal for both of us — for me at the start, and for him when he was hitting doubles and 180s for fun. It was a good feeling up on the stage.”

Focus on Winning

Some players treat the World Series trips to Australia and New Zealand as a mix of competition and relaxation, but Price insists he approaches every event with the same intensity.

“That’s every tournament I play in — it’s not just now,” he explained. “If you’re going to travel halfway around the world and not give 100 per cent, what’s the point? I’m here to win, give my all, and hopefully lift the trophy.”

Reflecting on last week’s defeat to Chris Dobey in Australia, Price acknowledged a missed opportunity. “I think it’s a game I let slip — probably similar to the game today. It could have slipped away from me, but I focused right to the end. Early on against Chris, I missed a lot of opportunities. To give someone like Chris a three-leg start in a race to six is going to be tough. I had chances after that, but it just wasn’t enough.”