Gerwyn Price, the world champion and world No.

1, made a strong statement by regaining his Grand Slam of Darts title with a commanding 16-8 victory over Peter Wright.

In truth, the world No.

2 was never really in the contest, and an average score of 91.

5 reflected both a desperately disappointing performance on his part and a mildly disappointing spectacle that lasted barely an hour.

However, this should not take away from Price's achievement.

After defeating James Wade 16-9 in the afternoon semi-final, Price was relentless and ruthless when it mattered.

Entering the arena to his customary chorus of boos, Price began the match with a 140 checkout, went into the first interval with a 4-1 lead, and after a brief revival from Wright, reeled off six legs in a row to lead 10-3.

He did not miss a dart at double until the eighth leg of the match.

Price averaged 104 on the night, but more impressively, he was still able to win legs even when not throwing at his best.

This is perhaps the most instructive lesson of the last nine days: while there are plenty of players on the circuit who can match Price’s A-game, few possess his ability to grind out tournament wins with their B-game.

This was once the domain of Michael van Gerwen, but the world No.

3’s defeat to Michael Smith in the quarter-finals was further evidence that his margin for error is not what it once was.

For Wright, who beat Smith in the second semi-final by coming back from 12-8 down to win 16-12, fatigue was doubtless a factor here, as demonstrated by the number of darts that missed low.

However, this has been a largely encouraging week for him too, proving that after an uneven season in which he has changed darts several times, he is finding form at the right moment.

The World Championship begins next month, and along with Van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton, and the rejuvenated Rob Cross, Wright will start among the favourites.

But once again, Price showed that he remains the man to beat.