Darts’ Gerwyn Price left disappointed after backing Reform party | Other | Sport
Darts star Gerwyn Price has been left disappointed following Reform UK’s failure to secure victory in the Caerphilly by-election. Plaid Cymru claimed the seat with 47 per cent of the vote in what was a record turnout in Wales.
Reform finished as runners-up with 36 per cent, leaving Price disheartened after publicly backing the party. The former PDC World Champion first revealed his support for Reform in July when he briefly changed his Facebook profile picture to display their logo.
The 40-year-old encouraged voters to support Reform candidate Llyr Powell ahead of Thursday’s vote. “Don’t just sit back and wait for the result, make a difference and vote Reform UK Wales,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
He also appealed to the public to turn out for Powell several days before polling day, insisting it was ‘time for change’. The three-time grand slam champion resides in Markham, approximately a 20-minute drive from Caerphilly in south-east Wales.
Beyond the World Grand Prix crown he captured in 2020, Price is a former world champion and has also claimed two World Series Finals victories throughout his career. Price has been enjoying a purple patch of form in recent times, triumphing in the Players Championship last month before producing outstanding performances in the World Series of Darts and the Hungarian Darts Trophy.
He has put his recent upturn in form down to shedding an impressive three stone in recent months. The former rugby player discussed his dramatic body transformation, saying: “I’ve been playing right through losing weight.
“It’s gradually happened over the last six months or so. You know how much darts is on these days, no chance for rest. While I’ve been playing I’ve been losing weight slowly and it’s been working.”
Price has previously made his views known about taking major darts competitions to different countries around the world as the sport continues to grow globally.
Speaking in 2023, he shared his thoughts on the subject, declaring: “I think it’s only right. That’s what happens with other sports. You should have equal rights that the tournament goes to different parts of the world. And then I think I’ll have a bit of a better chance of winning!
“Germany is becoming a huge market for the PDC and darts is growing immensely all over Europe. Maybe move it to Germany, Holland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales or Belgium.
“I don’t see any reason why they can’t do it. I know they have the history with Ally Pally, but times move on, things change. It used to be at the Circus Tavern years ago and they moved on from that.
“With the way the game is going, and the strength-in-depth in every country, in all corners of the world, the tournament needs to have a new home now and again. Maybe you could have it two years in London, two years in Holland, two years in Germany, then two years in Wales.”
