Gerwyn Price, the captain of the Welsh World Cup team for this week's PDC World Cup of Darts, has been forced to drop out of the event in Dortmund, heavily damaging Wales' hopes of retaining their 2023 tournament win in Germany.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the former World Champion said "I'm massively disappointed that I'm having to miss the World Cup and I always love representing Wales."
Price and his doubles partner Jonny Clayton stormed to victory at last year's event, convincingly defeating the Scottish duo of Gary Anderson and Peter Wright 10-2 in the final.
It's not the first event that the Iceman has had to withdraw from this season, with Price notably absent from the Masters back in February, and even forfeited a night of Premier League action earlier in 2024.
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Although Price's absence, combined with Clayton's inconsistent recent form, Wales' hopes of retaining their World Cup crown aren't over before they've even begun.
The country's third highest-ranked player, and Price's new replacement, is Jim Williams. A former BDO World Finalist, darts fans will recognise the world no.44 for his recent performance at the Ally Pally in the World Championship, where he knocked out Peter Wright in a showcase performance, and is also a former winner on the Pro Tour.
Wales will enter the World Cup in Saturday's second round after the culmination of the group stages, thanks to their ranking as one of the top four seeds alongside England, the Netherlands and Scotland.
The English duo of reigning World Champion Luke Humphries (making his World Cup debut) and Michael Smith enter the tournament as favourites, but it's been many years since we saw the English win this event, with Gary Anderson's scintillating form and MVG's return to the World Cup stage making this perhaps the tightest field in recent tournament memory.
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