PDC Darts tour: Gerwyn Price 'nervous' about oche return
- Published
Gerwyn Price won two PDC Tour events in 2020 and was runner-up at the UK Open in March
Wales' Gerwyn Price admits to feeling "a little bit anxious" as he prepares to return to the oche amid strict Covid-19 regulations.
The PDC tour will resume behind closed doors with five one-day Players Championship events from 8-12 July.
"Up until the lockdown I never suffered with nerves," said the two-time Grand Slam of Darts champion.
"I just don't know how well I'm going to play. I just need to get through the first game and I'll settle down."
Price took part in the PDC Home Tour in April, but says playing in his pyjamas and battling his family for WiFi supremacy was a challenge.
"I need an atmosphere and an intensity to get myself going and playing from my kitchen wasn't really for me," he told BBC Sport Wales.
"I'm looking forward to getting back and playing some competitive darts where players are around me."
The tournaments will be held at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, which has just successfully staged Championship League Snooker.
A bubble environment sees all players, staff and officials tested for coronavirus and then placed in isolation until they are confirmed to have tested negative.
"As soon as the test was done we had to go to our rooms and stay until the result comes back," said Price.
"If it's positive I'll be in the car on my way home and in quarantine for two weeks, hopefully that's not the case.
"We're not allowed to leave the hotel, we've got strict rules and guidelines that we've got to stick to, but as long as I'm here playing darts it's not too bad."
Price has been putting in a lot more practice hours during lockdown and believes he is playing better now than before the pandemic.
"But it's not competitive so you don't really know until you're playing against someone and someone's putting you under that pressure," he said.
"I'll find out tomorrow (Wednesday) how well I'm playing and if I need to put a few more hours in."
He also admits to spending a bit of time on his snooker table and "eating the fridge empty every single day".
Price is still relatively new to darts, but has shot up the rankings to third on the PDC Order of Merit,, external behind Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright.
"When I first started I was always scared of playing certain players, so I learned to deal with those players. I'm not scared of anyone anymore apart from myself and which one of me is going to turn up," he said.
"I'm number three now, but in three, four, five year's time, there's no reason why I can't be number one and no reason why I can't be as dominant as Michael (van Gerwen) and Phil (Taylor) was in his days."