Price urges fans to forget headphones stunt ahead of Premier League return

02 February 2023 , 15:18

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Gerwyn Price wants to put the headphone controversy behind him (Image: PA)

Gerwyn Price has told fans to forget his infamous headphones stunt as he makes his return in the Premier League.

The Iceman created a storm at the PDC World Championship when he experimented with the industrial-style ear-defenders to drown out the Alexandra Palace noise.

Price stunned pundits and TV viewers by resorting to the striking noise-cancelling contraption to block out the hostile crowd when 3-1 down in his quarter-final against Gabriel Clemens at Ally Pally.

The fiery Welshman discarded the headphones after one set as he went on to lose 5-1, but threatened to never play in the biggest tournaments in darts ever again.

The PDC has since amended its rules meaning Price will be banned from wearing headphones in this year's highly-anticipated Premier League tournament.

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An updated rulebook has outlawed headphones and ear-defenders, but airline-style earplugs like those worn by veteran Mervyn King are still permitted.

And Price is keen to put his headphone controversy behind him ahead of his first match against Nathan Aspinall in Belfast on Thursday,

Price won't be wearing the controversial headphones again (PA)

"I wore the ear defenders once and I won't be wearing them again," he said. "It's best left at that if I'm honest with you. I'm not a fan of earplugs, so from now on I'm just going to take whatever comes my way, like I have for the last couple of years, and just focus on playing darts.

“There's nothing else to say about it: I'm just concentrating on this Premier League, and whatever's happened in the past I would appreciate it if people would stop talking about it because I tried something, it didn't work and we move on.

“I'm here to play darts, to do the best I can – whatever is thrown at me – but I'm looking forward to Belfast.”

Price is one of the favourites to win the 17-week Premier League, and will be hoping to replicate his double night-dart magic from Belfast last year when he takes on Aspinall at the SSE Arena.

Ben Parsons