The World Grand Prix quarter-finals have been set, and one contest stands out above the rest. Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton, the two Welsh talents and good friends, will reignite their rivalry in Leicester, with a place in the semi-finals on the line. Whatever positive feelings they share will be cast aside once they take to the oche.
Both players have previously won the double-in, double-out tournament. Price reached the final in both 2020 and 2021, smashing Dirk van Duijvenbode 5-2 before coming up short in the next edition against an in-form Clayton in what was dubbed 'the year of The Ferret.' Price also reached the final in 2023 but could not prevail against Luke Humphries, though this time it feels like the Welsh duo are very much in the fight for glory.
'The Iceman' averaged 101.61 in the performance of the first round against debutant Sebastian Bialecki, who was given a cruel introduction to the Grand Prix. He is yet to drop a set in this tournament, following that with another statement win against Ross Smith, extracting his revenge for the World Series of Darts Finals defeat. It has now been over four years for Price without major silverware. It is even longer for Clayton, not including the World Cup of Darts, with the 2021 triumph his most recent success. He is also desperately scrambling for a spot in the Grand Slam of Darts, with him yet to pick up a PDC ranking title in 2026. He was less convincing in his opening round tussle against Krzysztof Ratajski but managed to prevail before seeing off Wessel Nijman 3-1 with an improved display.
2015 semi-finalist Mark Webster will be as excited as anyone to see these two lock horns once more. He previewed the match on Sky Sports. "It's a huge game, and it's one that Gerwyn Price generally gets the better of Jonny in," he remarked. "There's a lot more at stake here for Jonny, I feel. He needs to try and get himself in the Grand Slam. He wants to get to a major semi-final, he wants to get to a major final. It's going to be tough, but both players impressed me in the previous round. Gerwyn Price was excellent in round one, Jonny's finishing was brilliant in that game against Wessel in the previous round. He's going to have to be on point tomorrow night."
Price has already defeated Clayton in the Winmau Masters, UK Open and World Series of Darts in 2026 on the big stage. Clayton had not defeated his Welsh compatriot since 2023 on TV but ended that drought in Night Three of the Premier League Darts 2026. This may edge Price as the favourite, but Webster still admitted he was expecting a big performance by both. "You expect that in quarter-finals anyway, but it doesn't always work out like that," he acknowledged. "But look, they've both been impressive in different ways. Gerwyn Price has been a lot smoother a passage. Jonny had to really fight in round one against Krzysztof Ratajski. He didn't play well, found a way. He was better in round two. But he hasn't had much luck. He beat Gerwyn Price in the World Series. But generally, this is a contest that goes the way of Gerwyn Price. And they played a few weeks ago in Amsterdam, and it went Gerwyn Price's way on that occasion. So Jonny, for me, has to start well. He put in a brilliant display against him when he won this tournament in the final. Something similar will do Jonny tomorrow night."
The winner will blast themselves into the semi-finals where either Nathan Aspinall or Ryan Joyce will be waiting.
