Gerwyn Price denied Luke Littler a third World Series title of the year after demolishing the youngster 8-1 in the final.
It was the first of three events to be played in Oceania over the next three weeks.
Littler beat Dimitri Van den Bergh to reach the final after coming through a thriller against Michael Smith in the quarter-final.
Struggles on the outer ring against Price, however, handled the Welshman a second title of the year.
Price admitted he’s not been at his best in 2024 but confessed the need to approach his battle with Littler differently from other opponents.
Gerwyn Price hails Luke Littler as the ‘star of darts’
Littler entered the final as a firm favourite to lift a third World Series title of the year – a feat achieved by only Phil Taylor and Gary Anderson.
Price stunned the 17-year-old though and speaking to Online Darts, he revealed he needed extra motivation to stop ‘The Nuke’.
He said: “I know I need to gee myself up, get myself ready for the game which I haven’t done for the past couple of weeks.
“The last couple of months I haven’t been able to motivate myself but when you play someone like Luke [Littler] who’s the star of darts at the minute and full of confidence, you just want to really put in a good performance to try and win, and up my game a little bit.”
Price needs to replicate World Series form in ranking events
Price’s title in Wollongong added to the Nordic Darts Masters he picked up at the start of June.
Whilst any title feels special to win, the ‘Iceman’ is acutely aware of the need to translate his form into ranking money.
The former world number one currently sits at sixth in the order of merit and with a plethora of ranking majors on the horizon, he will be hoping to end the dominance of Luke Humphries.
Price hasn’t lifted a ranking major since November 2021 and though the three-time Grand Slam champion has a love affair with the Wolverhampton-based tournament, he is yet to qualify for his favourite competition.
Signs are positive on the oche for the 39-year-old, however, and his top level is still capable of beating anyone on the planet.