Former World Darts champion Gerwyn Price is more hopeful than most of a strong year ahead. If the Iceman continues on the downward trend that has dogged his career in recent times, he could slip out of the top 16 of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) rankings.
If he does, Price would lose out on automatic qualification privileges for some of the PDC’s most prestigious events. But, with a new sponsor in tow – his own fish and chip shop – the Welshman is hopeful of swapping plastic forks for silverware in 2026.
London Calling
The lengthy PDC season culminates in the World Championship each December and January. It’s a tournament that gave Price his greatest day in darts when he lifted the trophy in 2021, but since then the Markham man has struggled on the Alexandra Palace stage.
His World Darts odds of 25/1 are indicative of a player no longer seen by the bookmakers as an elite performer. Indeed, the darts betting market for the Premier League, which will tour the UK and Europe from February until May, has Price as the fifth-most likely winner in a field of eight.
Like many of us, for Price the new year has been a chance to reset and refocus ahead of 2026 – which includes signing a sponsorship deal with an unlikely source.
The 40-year-old will carry the logo of his own Chippy 501 on his shirt this season, advertising his Markham establishment to audiences across the UK and to far flung locations like Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Plaisier knocks out Gerwyn Price to deliver a monumental shock pic.twitter.com/NwC4SFSwbH
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 21, 2025
It was at the former where Price made an impressive run to the Bahrain Masters semi-finals; despite admitting that he hadn’t practised since a disappointing loss to Wesley Plaisier at the World Championships in December.
Price lost 0-3 in one of the most shocking results in the tournament, continuing his love-hate relationship with Alexandra Palace.
But with £1 million in prize money paid to the world champion, the Iceman will be back at the venue later this year – he’ll be hoping that the chips aren’t down in his bid to hang onto his top-16 status.
Welsh Pride
Aside from winning the world title, Price’s proudest day in darts was landing the World Cup with his good friend, Jonny Clayton.
The Cymru duo lifted the trophy in 2020 and again in 2023, becoming the first Welsh pair to do so after Price and Mark Webster had lost in the final back in 2017.
WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS
Well done boys, what a fantastic team performance all tournament long, well deserved champions!
Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton add their names to the illustrious list of World Cup champions & win Wales their PDC World Cup!
— Red Dragon Darts (@reddragondarts) November 8, 2020
For Clayton, that first triumph propelled his career to all new heights, as he followed up in 2021 by winning four televised majors – including the Premier League and World Grand Prix.
Curiously, the man known as the Ferret hasn’t hoisted a trophy on UK soil since the World Cup in 2023, although a win at the Dutch Darts Championship last year was a reminder that Clayton is still a major contender in darts.
He and Price will hit the road with the Premier League later this year, before returning to represent Wales in the World Cup of Darts once more. Could the Pontyberem native and the chip shop entrepreneur join forces for a third World Cup triumph?
