GURNEY: “I’VE BEEN TERRIBLE ALL YEAR”
29/04/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
By Aaron Nijjar
DARYL GURNEY has admitted he’s been “terrible all year” but hopes a big run in Graz can finally kickstart his season.
World No. 25 Gurney reached his first ProTour quarter-final of 2025 at the Austrian Open after a brutal run of 17 events without a deep finish.
‘Superchin’ smashed home favourite Mensur Suljović 6-1 in round two as he averaged a stellar 100 and hit 66 percent of his doubles.
Two-time major winner Gurney then dispatched Jermaine Wattimena before falling 6-3 to fellow Northern Irishman Josh Rock in the last eight.
Speaking after his win over Wattimena, Gurney didn’t hold back.
He said: “In all honesty I have been terrible all year.
“Only these last three to four weeks I have tried to build myself up and get better.”
Gurney revealed the PDC’s new qualification criteria has played a big part in his struggles.
Under the current system, the top 16 in the ProTour Order of Merit must now play in round one — while the top 16 in the PDC Order of Merit get seeded straight into round two.
He added: “I have been really struggling from whenever they changed the criteria.
“I changed the points on my darts.
“I know it’s the wrong time to do it whenever you are playing on the European Tour.
“But I just have been really struggling.”
Derry thrower Gurney has had great success on the ProTour in the past as he boasts two Players Championship titles and has made seven finals.
The 39-year-old also won the World Grand Prix in 2017 and the Players Championship Finals a year later.
But he’s now chasing a first crown since 2019.
And he says he’s working hard behind the scenes to turn things around.
He admitted: “Hopefully now I can kick on for the rest of the year because I am doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes to get me more mentally ready than just practicing and hitting the dartboard.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
