DARTS

Gerwyn Price will have his eyes set firmly on regaining his world title when the World Darts Championship gets underway this weekend – but maybe not his ears.

Price knows how to win this tournament but he has a difficult relationship with playing at the Alexandra Palace.

The Welsh marksman won the Worlds behind closed doors in 2021, beating Gary Anderson 7-3 in the final, but the lack of fans ultimately helped his campaign that year.

The fans have sometimes given him a hard time at the famous location in the past and he admits: “Ally Pally is not my favourite venue.

“If I could pick it up and bring it to Wolverhampton I’d be a multiple World Champion already,” Price told Sky Sports.

“For me, it’s the longevity of the tournament. It’s like playing four different tournaments in one tournament.

“You go and get through your first round and then when you return it’s like playing another tournament so it’s not my favourite, it’s not my favourite format, I hate playing the set format so I have to grin and bear it.

Despite the fans sometimes getting on Price’s back – The Iceman famously wore ear defenders during last year’s event –  he has had a good run of support in the Premier League and hopes it continues when he walks out onto the stage.

“I won the Worlds behind closed doors, so I’d love to win it again just based on the fact that there was nobody there when I won it the first time.

“But not just that, the family and everything after it. I was just sat in my kitchen doing nothing so it would be nice to win it again and parade it, show it off a bit,” Price added.

TABLE TENNIS

Welsh men’s No.1 Callum Evans will carry home hopes at the Grand Prix table tennis event in Cardiff this weekend.

Sport Wales National Centre will once again be the venue to host the action with just under 130 competitors.

Pan American Games Men’s Singles Silver Medallist from 2019 Jiaji Wu Zhang leads the seedings for the Men’s Singles, whilst Jerseys Hannah Silcock is the top seed in the Women’s Singles.

This year’s event sees the return of 16-times Scottish National Champion Gavin Rumgay, alongside six-time Welsh Men’s National Champion Evans, who will look to upset Wu Zhang to the top prize.

Welsh women’s No.3 Lara Whitton makes up the top seedings in the Women’s Singles which sees a strong Welsh contingent.