Price was leading 3-0 in sets at the Mattioli Arena when he stepped back from the board and spoke directly to Aspinall, who had been loudly reacting to misses in front of the crowd.

“They’re on your side, bud. Come on. Stop performing on the board and just play darts,” Price told him.

Aspinall then rallied from 3-0 to 3-2 before Price closed out the match, setting up a Sunday final against Luke Humphries.

‘They were all for him’

Price returned to the subject once he was off stage. He said the irritation had sat with him for most of the match.

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“I was a little bit upset with him. As good as the crowd is for me, they were all for him,” he told reporters afterwards.

He drew a line between the flashpoint and the friendship off it.

“I’m great friends with Nathan, but sometimes you’ve just got to let your darts go. When you’re losing, you’re losing.”

Asked whether the atmosphere had affected his own game, he did not duck it.

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“It did. I’m frustrated 90 percent of that game. I need to improve.”

Rule 3.14 and the Sky apology

The confrontation was not the only thing live viewers heard. During the final set Aspinall shouted an expletive at the dartboard after missing the treble 19, loud enough for broadcast microphones to catch it and for Sky Sports commentators to apologise on air.

Under DRA Rule 3.14, players cannot use or mouth offensive language during match play. There is no fixed figure for a swearing offence; sanctions are decided case by case, with Aspinall now facing what one report called a “hefty fine” from the governing body.

Three sets up, then Humphries’ response

The 2020 champion raced 3-0 up in sets in Sunday’s final, needing just 34 darts to wrap up the opening set in straight legs.

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Humphries then produced one of the great Grand Prix comebacks. He won six of the next seven sets to take Sunday’s final 6-4, with a 105 checkout in the fourth set that he later called the biggest shot of his career. Humphries collected £150,000 and his second World Grand Prix title.

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