DARYL GURNEY kept his Unibet Premier League Play-Off hopes alive with a 7-1 demolition of Simon Whitlock.

The Derry ace stayed in contention for a top four place by beating the Wizard of Oz at the Ahoy Arena.

Superchin, 32, had suffered his second successive defeat in Rotterdam going down 7-3 to Gary Anderson 24 hours after losing to World Champ Rob Cross.

But he showed real mettle to beat Whitlock to stay in contention at three points adrift of fourth place Michael Smith.

Gurney said: “That was an important win for me. I knew I had to get something out of these three games and that was vital.

“It’s obviously not what I wanted when I arrived in Rotterdam but it’s better than nothing in the end.

“I’ve given myself a big task over the next three matches. But if I get results in all of them I’ll be close to making the top four.

“At the start of the league I would have probably taken this position to be in with three to go, so I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”

Gurney comfortably saw off Ron Meulenkamp and Darren Webster, both with 6-3 wins in the Austrian Open in Graz over the weekend. However on-fire home star Mensur Suljovic ended Superchin’s run in the quarter-finals.

Now all eyes turn to Manchester for the next Unibet Premier League night with Gurney bidding to keep up the chase on the top four against Michael van Gerwen.

Gurney admitted: “There’s three weeks left to go and six points up for grabs. If I can get near maximum points I think I could get to the O2.

“I will give it everything I’ve got to make it to the Play-Offs. I know I am capable of getting three wins.

“Michael lost twice in Rotterdam so he’ll be hurting from that and will arrive in Manchester determined to get back on track.

“But every match now is a cup final for every player. I’ve just got to concentrate on my game. If I produce my A game, I can win. That’s my focus.”