Michael van Gerwen has called on Gerwyn Price' s ear defenders to be banned, with the noise of the crowd watching on 'part of the game'. Price took on Germany's Gabriel Clemens at the Alexander Palace in the quarter-final of the World Championship.
As is often the case, pantomime villain Price received a raucous reception from the famous Ally Pally crowd. During his final eight clash, Price found himself with work to do with Clemens 3-1 up in the clash.
In an effort to claw back his concentration and muffle out the lively crowd noise, Price returned to the oche in ear-defenders for the fifth set, to the shock of everybody in the arena.
His efforts were in vein though, as Clemens went on to secure a shock 5-1 victory over the world No. 1 to set up a semi-final clash with Englishman Michael Smith. One man who is also competing in the final four is van Gerwen.
Following the extraordinary events involving Price on Sunday, the Dutchman has now had his say on Price's tactic.
Asked if players should be allowed to use such accessories on stage, MVG said: “I don’t think so, nah. It has never been done in darts before, and Gezzy doesn’t need them.
"He is going through a tough period, so he is trying to think about things. He shouldn’t put himself in that position.
“I wear them with music before my game – but never on stage. Of course not. The crowd are part of the game and you have to deal with it. That changes the big players from each other I think.
"I think Gabriel Clemens played a really good game and we don’t do him any justice- we only talk about Gerwyn Price. That would be a shame.”
Van Gerwen also revealed that he poked fun at Price's ear-defender choice in the player room pre-match.
What did you make of Price's ear-defenders? Let us know in the comments section below.
He commented: "I saw the ear defenders in the backroom and I said to him, ‘You don’t have the balls to put them on’ - but he did. I was trying to wind him up. In his position, with his capabilities, with how big he is in darts.
"I wouldn’t have done it. But he’s going through a rough period. It doesn’t always make it easy. Would I wear them? I bought them once - and gave them to my five-year-old daughter at the Grand Slam.”
