Gerwyn Price has completed a remarkable turnaround from booed pantomime villain to fan favourite over the past 18 months, and Welsh darts personality Polly James believes the abuse he once received was never something he truly embraced. Speaking to LeasingOptions, James suggested that Price's claims of feeding off the boos were simply a shield. "I think he always used to say to me when he was on stage, 'Yeah, you know, I feed off all the boos, and I feed off the whistling.' I really think that was just his coping mechanism to get over the fact that he was being booed, if that makes sense," she said.
James, a fellow Welsh figure in the darts world, explained that Price's transformation into a crowd favourite stems from the authenticity and passion he brings to the oche. "Gerwyn is a really interesting one because he's had such a journey with the fans. For a long time, as you say, he was one of the most divisive characters in darts. And now he's become a real crowd favourite in so many places," she said. "He plays so much better when the crowd is on his side. He's kind of struck this amazing balance now with the fans, where he goes on and gives it that big trademark roar. People are just loving it, and you kind of fall in love with him."
According to James, fans have come to respect Price for being unapologetically himself. "He's been around in the game long enough for people to know exactly what he's like. I think people respect his authenticity. With Gerwyn, what you see is what you get. He's passionate, he's emotional, and he's fiercely competitive. That's the Welshness in him that I love. I love it. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and you know exactly how much it means to him," she said. "I think people have come to appreciate that there's so much more to him than just the intensity you see on stage. He's got a softer side — I wouldn't necessarily say a soft side, but he's got a good sense of humour, and there's a real vulnerability there as well."
James also highlighted that darts needs characters, and Price fits the bill perfectly. "Ultimately, I do think fans love a character, and Gerwyn is one of those proper darts characters. He's not afraid to be himself, he's not afraid to show emotion, and whether he's winning or losing, you get a good reaction. More often than not, when I'm interviewing Gerwyn, particularly more recently, he's been in the runner-up position," she said. "Even though he is, in his own way, graceful in defeat, he's always honest. No one likes losing; this is a competitive sport. There's so much jeopardy and so much money on the line. He's true to himself, and he's like, 'I hate that. I hated losing. I don't want to come second. I thought I was the better player.'"
Behind the scenes, James revealed that Price is far more focused and routine-driven than his fiery on-stage persona might suggest. "People see the intensity and the celebrations. He's got that fire on stage, and that's what they think he's like 24/7. But he's a really interesting character to interview because he is very passionate. I think in the last couple of years, from my point of view, I'd say that over the last couple of years, he really has become one of those athletes, those sportspeople who will come into a venue, and you would expect him to be so fiery," she said. "For example, I'm trying to make the contrast for you, so you've got people like Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross, and all these fun characters who will come in, and they're really easygoing, really chilled out, calm, and having a laugh, and there's a bit of banter. Gerwyn comes in, and he's very much like, 'What interviews do I have? How long is it going to take?' Head down, and then he gets into it. He's locked in. He's dialled in, and he knows his routine."
James added that Price's honesty extends to his own performances. "I think that's happened a lot more over the last couple of years. So you don't get a lot from Gerwyn before his game. Then, obviously, when you do interview him behind the scenes, he is very real. He's authentic in the sense that you could say to him, 'Oh, look, guys, you had a really good game there,' or, 'The average [set of darts] was really great,' and he'd be like, 'No, you know, I bombed a couple of doubles.' But he's one of the truest characters out there. He's very serious, but he's not too dissimilar to what you see on stage. Obviously, he comes alive a little bit when he's in motion and when he's in action, but I think he's more of an athlete than people think."
