GERWYN PRICE threatened to never play in the PDC World Darts Championship again as he crashed out after wearing EAR DEFENDERS to block out booing fans.
The "gutted" World No1 seemed to blame the hostile Ally Pally crowd for Gabriel Clemens' shock 5-1 win in the quarter-finals.
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The top seed returned from a break at 3-1 down to don huge headphones for one set as supporters continued to give him stick.
Fans, unsurprisingly, did not respond in positive fashion at the gimmick, singing: “What the f****** hell is that?”
Fans in hysterics as Price wears EAR DEFENDERS to block boos but still loses
And the change did the Welshman little good as he failed to win another set.
An emotional Price, who has extensive property portfolio away from the oche, promptly posted on Instagram that he is considering QUITTING the biggest tournament on the calendar.
The Iceman, 37, wrote: "So frustrating, you play all year round preparing for this one tournament.
"So gutted I wasn't let play but Good luck everyone left in. Not sure I will ever play in this event again."
The result means that come Tuesday evening, Price will be knocked off his perch as world No.1 and he could even drop as low as fifth in the standings.
He has regularly been targeted by fans since the controversial argy-bargy of his notorious win over Gary Anderson in the 2018 Grand Slam of Darts final.
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Price was later fined a then-world record fee of £21,500 – reduced to £11,500 on appeal.
But viewers were sceptical about Price's suggestion he might not return to the Ally Pally.
One posted: "He can't be serious, right? The crowd were fine until he put on those hilarious earmuffs.
Gerwyn Price cryptically deletes every Instagram post after Ally Pally exit
"Fabricating a rivalry with the crowd to excuse his mid performance, not unusual."
But some fans claimed he deserved the booing he receives because of his "arrogance".
One said: "He rarely shows any respect to other players, a very bad loser and terrible sportsmanship in general.
"He tries a bit more now granted, but done the damage with fans early on in darts career."
