WORLD DARTS: Gurney to face MVG

Talented Waterside thrower, Daryl Gurney faces his toughest test yet, as he comes up against world number one Michael van Gerwen in the quarter-finals stages at the PDC World Championship, at Alexandra Palace, tonight.
Daryl Gurney celebrates winning the third set against Mark Webster, at the William Hill World Darts Championship.Daryl Gurney celebrates winning the third set against Mark Webster, at the William Hill World Darts Championship.
Daryl Gurney celebrates winning the third set against Mark Webster, at the William Hill World Darts Championship.

The 30-year-old who is the last man to defeat MVG a few months ago in Germany, will take confidence from that win.

“I can tell you here now that I can beat van Gerwen over long sets, I have the game to beat him,” stated Gurney.

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“I’ve never played Michael over that long a format. But I can play well and I’ve got the shots within me which I seem to find anytime I play Michael.

“I come alive whenever I play him.”

Daryl had a hard fought last 16 win over Mark Webster yesterday, at a packed ‘Ally Pally,’ Gurney lost the first set to the Welsh man before hitting a purple patch and racing into a 3-1 lead.

But Webster bounced back to send the match into a deciding set in which Gurney missed three chances at double top to close out the match.

He then missed five doubles in succession in another leg to claim victory but, after squandering clear-cut chances, he reacted to the pressure the crowd were putting him under before he held his nerve and secured a 3-1 win in the final set.

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A relieved man to have booked his place in the quarter-finals, Daryl was disappointed by his performance.

“I was losing temper with myself,” he admitted after the win. “When I’ve got so many darts at double to win a match - especially a match of this importance when you’re trying to get to the last eight of the worlds - I was really getting onto myself.

“Yeah they turned against me, so I tried to concentrate more. I started looking out at the crowd because I was getting a few gestures. So I started looking to the floor and at my feet.

“It was me against (Webster), not me against the crowd and him. There’s a lot of people who would have given up on the game or who would have lost the temper and let the crowd win the game for the other person.

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“I knew I was still good enough and calm enough to outscore him. Eventually I fell over the line and I’m just really relieved to have come through.

“I should have won the game earlier, I think I should have won 4-1, maybe 4-2.

“The only thing that went against me was my doubles for the match. They were dreadful and I just wish one of them had fallen in, to be honest. I couldn’t deflect off another dart to win the match but, in the end, I won.

Gurney, who threw seven maximums in an average of 92.33 in yesterday’s win, will play first this evening.

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All four quarter-final ties take place today, with James Wade taking on Peter Wright and current world champion Gary Anderson facing Dave Chisnall in the afternoon games.

While tonight just after Gurney takes on the world number one, the 16 time world champion Phil Taylor faces old rival Raymond van Barneveld in the final game of the day.