‘He’ll only get better’ – Gerwyn Price tips four rising stars to take World Darts Championships by storm
GERWYN PRICE reckons four rising stars are ready to light up this year’s World Championship after standout seasons on the PDC tour.
‘The Iceman’ opens his Ally Pally campaign on December 16 against Czech thrower Adam Gawlas as he bids to claim the Sid Waddell Trophy for a second time.
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Gerwyn Price has identified his four to watch at the World ChampsCredit: PA
Markham thrower Price has tipped European champion Gian van Veen, World Cup winner Josh Rock and young guns Wessel Nijman and Bradley Brooks to make serious noise on the big stage.
All four players fall between 23 and 25 years old, with Price convinced their fearless, fast-rising games could cause serious problems for the sport’s biggest names.
He told SPORTbible: “Obviously, Gian van Veen has been playing pretty decent. Wessel Nijman has been pretty decent.
“Josh Rock has set off a little bit, and found a bit of form in the Grand Slam.
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“Bradley Brooks has been brilliant, he’s been in one of the finals as well. He’s been great on the floor.”
World No9 Price heaped praise on Van Veen, who defeated Luke Humphries in a last-leg decider to win his first major PDC title last month.
He added: “He’s a fantastic player. As you can see, when he’s playing, the pressure doesn’t faze him.
“He’s always cool, calm and composed. For someone who’s struggled with that, I guess, and came back from the brink [against Humphries], fair play to him.
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“He’s a great player. And those sorts of players, in ten or 15 years’ time, are the only ones who are probably going to be around trying to battle off with the likes with Luke Littler.
“At the minute, he’s flying – and I think he’ll only get better, which is good.”
Price is confident heading into the Worlds himself after picking up FOUR titles on the ProTour this year and reaching the semi-finals of the Players Championship finals and Grand Slam.
He continued: “I’m definitely more confident than last year.
“It was probably one of my worst seasons last year. But this year, I’m starting to find a little bit of form and getting a bit better.
“When the Premier League seems to finish and things start to open up a bit, you get a bit more time at home and you actually want to be on the road again. That’s when I start to play a bit better.
“It’s probably just being a bit more positive and enjoying it again [the difference between 2025 and 2024].
“I had a little bit of help before the World Championship last year, so that helped me out and sort of gave me the confidence and the right mindset moving forward.
“I was definitely more positive from the Premier League. It is hard to play in a Premier League but as long as I was more positive, I was enjoying it a lot more, and I was not getting the results but I was performing well.
“As the season was going on, I was performing better, and the results were coming as well.”
Another thing still undecided for Price is his walk-on track, and it could get a tweak before he steps on stage at Ally Pally.
He stunned fans by dropping his trademark ‘Ice Ice Baby’ for Myles Smith’s ‘Nice To Meet You’.
Price says he will likely keep the new song, though he teased that a small adjustment might be on the cards.
He said: “I’m probably going to stick with it but try to find the right part of the song, try to get the right volume.
“Because it just seems like it’s not the same song that I listen to in the car when you’re walking on to it.
“But if we get the right balance and the right part of the song, I’m sure there’s some good energy.”
Gian van Veen poses with the trophy after winning the World Youth ChampionshipCredit: Getty
