Gerwyn Price defeats Anderson in feisty Grand Slam of Darts final

Both men clashed in a roller coaster match, where Anderson took exception to Price’s slow play and exuberant celebrations which saw the Welshman recover from 7-4 down to lead 8-4 in the best-of-31-legs match.

But a riled-up Anderson hit back to win the next four legs to lead 11-8 before the ‘Iceman’ took three legs against the throw to make it 13-13.

They continued to throw taunts throughout the contest, including Anderson pushing Price after they collided when Welshman won the 27th leg, before claiming the next two to secure a 16-13 victory and take the Eric Bristow Trophy.

Price, who won seven of the last nine legs to claim victory, spoke of his pride at securing the first Grand Slam of Darts trophy to be named after Bristow, who died earlier this year.

“I was probably chasing the game all the way through,” he explained, “I didn’t mind. I knew if I put him under pressure, he was going to crack and he did.

“This trophy means a lot to me, it’s the first ever one named after Eric so nobody can take that away from me. I go down in history now, happy days.

“Sometimes the crowd is with you, sometimes it’s against you. If it’s against you, you have to feed off that. This week, maybe two or three times, they were against me, (but) it makes me play better. So next time, boo a little bit more.

“I’m loving it playing on that stage against the best players in the world. Five to six years ago I was a rugby player, and now I’m pinching money from the professionals’ pockets.”

Price also dismissed the suggestion that the conflict on the oche had an affect on the result of the match.

He added: “I’m throwing my darts, he needs to wait for his turn. He doesn’t like it when it’s a little bit up him, so unlucky.

“I knew when he beat Michael (Van Gerwen) that I was going to beat him. Simple. He can’t handle playing me. He just moans every time that I’m doing this, doing that. Concentrate on your own game.”