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The headline narrative on finals day of the Grand Slam of Darts was around the timing of when Luke Littler would usurp Luke Humphries as the world number one.
Following the conclusion of the two semi-finals in Wolverhampton, 18-year-old Littler had provisionally secured his spot at the summit of the global rankings - an astonishing achievement for the man who did not even hold a tour card this time two years ago.
But for the two beaten semi-finalists, Danny Noppert and Gerwyn Price, there was a huge amount to take from what had, on the whole, been an impressive week for both.
Having lost his group stage opener against Ricky Evans, Welshman Price rallied to surge to the last four of the competition.
He came up against an inspired Humphries who averaged a staggering 106.25 in his 16-13 triumph over Price.
READ MORE: The Ice Man Is Feeling Chilled As Gerwyn Price Enjoys Trip To The Baltic
Despite being narrowly edged out by Cool Hand, who ended Price's 100% winning record when it comes to the semi-finals of the Grand Slam, the Welshman can take a huge amount from his efforts.
A double success rate of more than 56% and four 100+ checkouts - the highlight of which was a mesmerising 151 out to level the contest at 5-5 - against such a stellar opponent in Humphries can only fill Price with confidence ahead of next weekend's Players Championship finals at Minehead's Butlin's resort - the final tournament before the calendar's showpiece event, the World Championship at Alexandra Palace, in December.
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The two Lukes deservedly continue to earn praise and are rightly consistently tipped for honours given the way they repeatedly manage to blow the field away en route to challenging at the business end of tournaments.
But, perhaps alongside Josh Rock and Gian van Veen, Price - who rose four places up to 10th in the rankings courtesy of the £50,000 he earned by reaching the semi-finals of the Grand Slam - is quite simply the best of the rest at present.
He knows exactly what is required to win big tournaments, and his form is closer to his career peak where he scooped the world title for the first time on the third day of 2021.
According to Darts Orakel, only five players in the world have averaged more than Price over the last 12 months, and only three have hit more 180s than the former rugby player.
Having won the title on three occasions, a tally bettered only by the great Phil Taylor, the Grand Slam has often provided Price with the platform to shine at the business end of the year.
The Players Championship can also do the same for the 40-year-old - particularly given that he topped this year's Players Championship Order of Merit having reached six finals, winning four of those, in the event.
He was also responsible for five of the top 35 match averages in the Players Championship in 2025.
His quest to go one better than his 2019 runner-up finish in the finals of the nine-month long event starts against German Max Hopp later this week, and few would bet against the former world champion having another deep run in the Somerset showpiece.
Once again, Luke and Luke will top the list of favourites for the final two events of the calendar, particularly new number one Littler who became the first player to defend his Grand Slam title since Price did so six years earlier.
But write off the Iceman at your peril. His latest impressive stint in Wolverhampton once again demonstrated he is fully capable of competing with the game's big guns.
