GURNEY UNDER FIRE FOR GIVING UP IN GRAND SLAM

MATT EDGAR believes Daryl Gurney showed a “lack of character” after his early exit at the Grand Slam of Darts.

‘Superchin’ lost all THREE matches against Luke Littler, Connor Scutt and Karel Sedláček, and crashed out at the group stage for the first time in his career.

Two-time major winner Gurney has shown clear signs of resurgence this year with a European Championship quarter-final and a World Cup victory for Northern Ireland alongside Josh Rock.

But Edgar believes Gurney’s undoing in Wolverhampton had nothing to do with his form and everything to do with his attitude.

He said on the Mission Darts Podcast: “When you look at Daryl Gurney, he’s been playing a lot better than maybe he’s been given credit for.

“In this event, I think he let himself down a little bit.

“I’ve been singing his praises for a long time. We’ve been flying the flag of Daryl Gurney.

“I think he’s going to win something and that might have been the World Cup alongside Josh Rock.

“I think when he reflects on the Grand Slam, he’ll be disappointed with not just that, but the lack of character he showed because that’s not Daryl Gurney.

“That’s not Daryl Gurney’s game. Daryl Gurney doesn’t put his darts down four times in a game. ‘I’ve lost now.’

“Daryl Gurney is not someone who accepts defeat. He’s not someone who rolls over.

“This player is in the top 24 of the world and has been in there for a very long time. He is an elite player.

“And elite players don’t give up the way he gave up in this event.

“We can only go on what we see on the screen. There may be distractions at home.

“There may be other things going on for Daryl Gurney. That’s meant it’s just not happened for him this week.

“It was disappointing to see, and that’s not Daryl’s game.”

Gurney returns to action on Friday at the Players Championship Finals and will face Brendan Dolan in Minehead.

Image by Taylor Lanning.