Gerwyn Price after a win over Van Barneveld: ‘Raymond had punished my slipper in the past’ | Sport

He held his breath for a moment after the first inning in the match, in which he himself only threw 43 and Van Barneveld the maximum 180. ,,That was exactly not what I wanted. I had the opposite in mind. But luckily I was able to recover quickly and keep Raymond under constant pressure afterwards.”

Only occasionally did Van Barneveld get chances. ,,I had three or four slippers in the match. In the past, Raymond would undoubtedly have benefited from this, but now it did not work.”

Price confirmed after the game that he had considered throwing headphones on to block out the crowd’s negativity towards him. That has been the case since a few mishaps on stage with other players and is not getting any less. ,,If Raymond had been better in the game and the crowd had turned against me, I probably would have done it. But now it was not necessary.”

He did not rule out that he will do it again in the remainder of the tournament. ,,And it’s not just about headphones, but I also put in earplugs. I first tried it at home during the Christmas break with earplugs in, but then I heard too much. With the headphones on, I couldn’t even hear my kids anymore; then I knew it would work well, haha.”

Price is disappointed that he is being booed en masse. “People have a wrong perception of me based on one or two things that happened a few years ago. I would love it if I got the chance to show who I really am.”

Raymond van Barneveld left immediately after the match for his hotel. He did not speak to the press.