Ice Cool Finish
It's glory for Price but heartbreak for red-hot Petersen.
Gerwyn Price admits he’s got to stop beating himself up after a very strong comeback to snatch day four of the Autumn Series.
The World No.3 came from 7-4 down to grab an 8-7 victory over Devon Petersen in the final in Niedernhausen, Germany.
The Iceman delivered a consistent day of displays including ton-plus averages in wins over Ryan Murray and Ryan Searle.
Price admits that missing out on a Premier League play-off place on the final night is not affecting him.
He said: “It probably feels the same as the Premier League. You are stuck in a bubble just playing on a board and a live stream. It’s probably just a glorified ProTour. This week is exactly the same as that.
“It was out of my hands. I had to do what I did and won my game. Nathan went and beat Glen and fair play to him, he played fantastic, he took out some great shots and he deserves to be where he is.
“The Premier League isn’t what we all know. It’s not the be-all and end-all. I’m here to win ranking points and I’ve won a tournament today and if I can win again tomorrow then happy days.
“It’s into the World Series next week, that’s another freebie another practice and I’ll look forward to more ranking tournaments at the end of the year.
“You can just play. What else can you do? You’ve just got to turn up and do the best you can. You can’t change the environment. Sometimes I beat myself up, I’ve just got to be a bit more positive in my head.”
It was a heartbreaking end to a fabulous day for Petersen who missed four match darts to wrap up his first-ever PDC title.
Prior to that the South African had whitewashed World No.1 Michael van Gerwen 6-0 and hit an average of 110 in beating Nathan Aspinall.
By Phil Lanning
Picture by Taylor Lanning