clashed with darting royalty. Van Gerwen lost his rag with official Russ Bray during and at the end of his Premier League final against Jonny Clayton, who won 6-5 to replace the Dutchman at the top of the table.
The Green Machine was unhappy with Bray’s attempts to discourage the whistling which occurred when Clayton stepped up to the oche. “I think he put his stamp on this match too much,” said Van Gerwen. “That ‘thank you’ from him to the public happens every time I have to throw.
But I can't blame that. I just have to learn from this.” Bray certainly held his own during his dust-up with van Gerwen and is unlikely to have been fazed by the run-in, having been a PDC referee and announcer for more than 25 years.
He got his big break in 1996, and it was something of an accident. “I got noticed initially because of the voice,” recalled in an interview with Sky Sports back in 2015. “I was a reserve referee in Hertfordshire back in 1996 and eventually refereed with Freddie Williams. “I never meant to get into this job.
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