Darts' pantomime villain Gerwyn Price says he would 'rather not even go to Ally Pally' for the World Championship after wearing EAR DEFENDERS to drown out jeers

Gerwyn Price has admitted he loathes going to Alexandra Palace for the PDC Darts World Championship and claimed he'd have won the event multiple times if the tournament was staged elsewhere.

The Welsh former rugby player has had a troubled relationship with the venue and famously wore ear defenders to drown out the jeers from a hostile Ally Pally crowd last year.

Price, whose only world title came in 2021, later claimed he was 'not sure I will ever play in this event again'.

And the Iceman has risked further upsetting the raucous darts crowd ahead of the 2024 World Championship by admitting the famous London venue is not his favourite. 

'If I could pick it up and bring it to Wolverhampton I'd be a multiple world champion already,' Price told Sky Sports.

'For me, it's the longevity of the tournament. It's like playing four different tournaments in one tournament.

'You go and get through your first round and then when you return it's like playing another tournament so it's not my favourite, it's not my favourite format, I hate playing the set format so I have to grin and bear it.

'I'd rather win every other major and not even go to Ally Pally. That would do me.'

Price bizarrely tried to block out the noise from the crowd by donning a pair of ear defenders midway through his quarter-final against Gabriel Clemens at the 2023 tournament.

He later swapped the large defenders for less-bulky ear plugs but they did not have the desired effect as he crashed out of the competition with defeat to the German.

Price was involved in further controversy when Sky Sports had to apologise to viewers after he made a gesture which could have been construed as offensive to disabled people during his victory over Jose de Sousa.

The world No 5 will play either Connor Scutt or Krzysztof Kciuk in the second round of this year's event, which begins on December 15.

It has a total prize find of £2.5million, with £500,00 awarded to the winner. 

England's Michael Smith is the reigning world champion having beaten Michael van Gerwen in an epic final, which included Smith hitting a nine-dart finish after the Dutchman had failed with his own attempt in the same leg.