Gerwyn Price felt his ‘head was going to blow off’ during spicy Daryl Gurney clash

Gerwyn Price says his head was going to blow off at times during his feisty World Matchplay win over Daryl Gurney, which ended in confrontational fashion.

Price won the opening round match 10-7 in Blackpool on Monday night, continuing the fine form he has shown in recent weeks.

It was a tasty contest between the two, with Gurney mocking Price’s trademark celebrations and the Iceman seemingly being much more reserved than normal in a bid to keep a lid on his emotions.

After the Welshman hit the winning double, it looked like it would all end in friendly fashion but Price gave a very aggressive handshake, which suggested all was not fine between the two.

Price did not give away much on his feelings on Gurney, but did say he was doing his best to remain calm throughout the game.

‘I just felt like I needed to keep myself composed,’ he said. ‘I was forcing to not let my emotions get the best of me. Sometimes that’s what happens, sometimes I try and control it.

‘I think possibly that’s what got me over the winning line, try to keep everything intact and let it go at the end.

‘I know if it was five, six, seven years ago that game probably could have got away from me and slipped away. But I’ve learned to keep my emptions intact at key points where my head was going to blow off but I had to keep it in.’

Gurney’s Northern Ireland World Cup teammate Josh Rock was also in action on Monday, brilliantly beating Ross Smith.

He said of the incident: ‘I didn’t think there was anything in it until Daryl saw the funny side of it and Gezzy didn’t.’

Ahead of the match, Price had said that his relationship with the Northern Irishman is very good.

‘I get on really well with Daryl, he’s playing some good stuff,’ said the former world champion. ‘I get on really well with him and I think it’ll be a really good game.’

The Iceman also seemed to make light of the clash on social media after the game, referencing his recent weight loss as he wrote on Instagram: ‘Have to be careful these days I’m down to light cruiser weight.’

Price was very impressive, averaging 100.21 in the victory which set up a last 16 meeting with Chris Dobey.

Hollywood’s 10-5 win over Ricardo Pietreczko was not so sparkling, with Dobey needing an average of just 90.95.

Rock was the star of Monday night as he secured a 10-5 victory with a 104.32 against Smith to book a meeting with Michael van Gerwen in the next round.