GERWYN PRICE called for the William Hill PDC World Darts Championship to be 'postponed' after a fourth player Covid case was announced.
No.14 seed Dave Chisnall will not face Luke Humphries this afternoon in the third round after failing a lateral flow test following the Christmas break.
Chizzy will receive just £25,000 in prize money and will have to observe a period of self-isolation.
Opponent Humphries receives a bye for the fourth round tomorrow without throwing a dart and plays Chris Dobey, who himself was a benefactor of a walkover result.
This follows the news that Vincent van der Voort and Michael van Gerwen had both been kicked out due to positive tests after a Christmas lunch at their manager’s house.
Meanwhile fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld tested positive for the deadly bug following his second-round exit against Rob Cross last Thursday night.
And outspoken Price – the world No.1 and defending world champion – has sensationally called for the event to be stopped momentarily.
In an Instagram story, Price simply said: “Tournament needs to be postponed.”
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He continued: "I've been in their position so I feel for the players that have had to withdraw.
"There's a lot of hard work gone into getting events like the World Championships on so postponing probably isn't the best option, but an option I wouldn't disagree with.
"Time to keep myself safe and out of touch… keep safe all."
The Iceman also stated that the tournament had been devalued when taking to social media on Tuesday night.
He remarked: “I’d rather play the best to be the best.
“Absolutely feel sick for these players having to pull out over Covid.”
Price, 36, is due to face Dutchman Dirk van Duijevnbode tonight but that fourth-round tie is in doubt.
Aubergine farm office worker Van Duijvenbode admitted to the media that he had spent some of his time over the weekend with Van der Voort and Van Gerwen.
The no.17 seed is awaiting the result of his test today and that might explain the anger of Price.
The session this afternoon will continue with just two matches – Jose de Sousa against Scot Alan Soutar, and Nathan Aspinall versus Callan Rydz.
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