'There are plenty more gears in the tank' - Gerwyn Price sends out ominous message after breezing to victory

Gerwyn Price has enjoyed previous success in Budapest, and started his Hungarian Darts Trophy campaign on the right track after defeating Richard Veensrta 6-2 in a commanding victory.

The last European Tour Price played was in the Czech Darts Open, where he averaged over 104 in a 6-0 defeat to Gian van Veen. From then he reached two Pro Tour finals, clinching one title, and blew a huge chance to reach the World Series of Darts Finals final, being pegged back by Luke Littler.

The Icamen was heavily motivated to continue his positive form, and started in ominous fashion, taking out 145 in the first leg before heading into a 4-0 lead. Flyers would win both of his legs with breaks of throw, as Price, in turn, stole legs off his opponent to comfortably breeze through the rest of the tie. While he may not have been at his very best, it was enough to get the job done.

In his interview after the match, he was asked if he had more gears to go up. The Iceman said: "Yeah, definitely. Especially early on, I was just dropping below the bottom wire on the treble 20 and having to switch down to the 19s, which wasn’t working for me. I was like, they’re going to click in a minute, and then they started to go in. It wasn’t spectacular, but I did enough to win. And like you said, there are plenty more gears in the tank."

The Welshman won the inaugral event in Hungary back in 2021, averaging over 108 in an 8-2 win over Michael Smith in the final. He reached the semi-final two years later, before being beaten in the second round at last year's event.

He praised the crwod's supprt, as he said: "The crowd always support me, they always get right behind me, and that’s probably testament to why I do so well. So thank you very much. I’m playing fantastic this year—I just need a little bit of luck. When I get the support from the crowd like I had today, there’s no reason why I can’t go and lift this trophy again."

His next round opponent is another Dutchman, this time Raymond van Barneveld. The five-time World Champion disposed of 2023 winner Dave Chisnall, averaging 107.97 and wrapping up the match with a 144 checkout.

"I played Raymond last week and he played fantastic against me," Price said. "I had to play at my ultimate best to beat him, and I’m sure that’s how I’ll have to play tomorrow. Raymond’s coming into some good form. He’s a good friend of mine, but once we’re warming up on the oche there are no friends. Fingers crossed I’ll play well, he’ll play well, and it’ll be a good game—and the best man will win."