Daryl Gurney stars on his Belfast homecoming in Premier League Darts
"Whenever you're playing in the Premier League you are swimming with sharks, and if they smell blood, you are done for!"
Thursday 29 March 2018 23:28, UK
Home hero Daryl Gurney produced an inspired performance to stun world champion Rob Cross to the delight of a partisan Belfast crowd on a thrilling night of Premier League action.
'Super Chin' received a hero's welcome from the capacity crowd as 'Sweet Caroline' bellowed around the SSE Arena, and he rose to the occasion in spectacular style to defeat 'Voltage' and confirm his survival ahead of Judgement Night.
Cross was bidding for his sixth consecutive Premier League win and made a fine start; converting finishes of 84 and 82 to establish an early 2-0 cushion, before moving 4-2 ahead with an average in excess of 107.
However, the Northern Irishman unleashed a brutal barrage of scoring to fight back; crashing in nine maximums as he won five of the remaining six legs to close out his second victory of the campaign.
Gurney remains in seventh position but is level on points with Raymond van Barneveld and Simon Whitlock, and sits just one point outside the top-four places.
"I knew Rob was going to be absolutely on fire because whatever this crowd did it wasn't going to affect him, so I thought to myself: 'Whatever he does, don't give up. Never ever give up'," Gurney said.
"I know I missed three darts in the first leg to give him that chance to go ahead, so in all honesty I thought just stick in there, don't give up and hopefully at one stage we'll get a shot."
The World Grand Prix champion had endured a frustrating start to his debut campaign, after failing to register a win in his opening six games, drawing four of those.
He relinquished leads against Van Barneveld, Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson, but he insists he is working harder than ever.
He added: "I've been practising harder than I ever have. Last year I probably played better than I have this year, but I've practised a lot more this year.
"At the start of the Premier League I had a few draws, a few losses, and to be honest I didn't play the way I wanted to play. I was below average in my own opinion, so whenever in the last few games I drew and missed doubles I was really disappointed in myself.
"I went back to the practice board and thought right: 'Put this right, because at the end of the day, whenever you're playing in the Premier League you are swimming with sharks, and if they smell blood, you are done for'."
Gurney registered his first Premier League victory on his 32nd birthday in Glasgow last week, and he believes his more positive demeanour has been the catalyst for his upturn in fortunes.
"The last couple of weeks I've went up there and been a lot happier- a lot happier on the walk-on, a lot happier playing the game and probably that's what kept me in the game tonight," the Northern Irishman said.
It will be a night that lives long in the memory for Gurney, but he will be looking to secure a third successive win against Peter Wright on Judgement Night in Liverpool next week, as 'Snakebite' battles to beat the drop.
Live Premier League Darts
The 2018 Premier League heads to the Echo Arena in Liverpool for Judgement Night next Thursday, with coverage underway from 7pm on Sky Sports Action & Sky Sports Mix, which you can find on channel 287, and is free for all Sky customers. Six weeks of tungsten action will then continue through to the season's conclusion with the Play-Offs on May 17 at The O2 in London.
Keep up to date with the latest darts news, previews, reports, reaction and expert analysis. Get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts- don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts
