DARYL GURNEY insists he will keep “pushing hard” in the Unibet Premier League despite seeing his top four hopes ended.

The World No.7 has shown huge fight and spirit to force his way back into the reckoning despite having not recorded a win before the resumption of the league nine days ago.

But the Northern Irishman’s future in the event will not go further that Saturday night after a plucky draw with Gerwyn Price.

A nip-and-tuck contest never saw more than two legs between the pair, though it was Price who came back from 4-2 down to lead 7-6.

A 180 from Gurney in his opening visit of the final leg dampened Price’s hopes of victory, and the Northern Irishman sealed a point in style with a 130 checkout. However, the result wasn’t enough to keep Gurney’s faint top four aspirations alive.

However, he has now been plunged into a key role in the race for the top four, facing Nathan Aspinall and Michael van Gerwen over the next two nights.

Gurney said: “I’ve got nothing to lose now but I’ll keep pushing hard. I’m fighting my way back into form and it’s still mathematically possible for me to finish seventh in the table.

“It’s been a long hard struggle this year in the league. You need to start well or it’s very hard to string a run of results together to get out of trouble. That’s what has happened to me.

“If I could finish on a high it would mean a lot to me. To avoid elimination was a decent achievement, to finish higher in the table would also be a good way to finish.

“I also owe it to Nathan and Michael to give it everything I’ve got in both games. Perhaps with the pressure off me I can end the league in good form.”

 

Words by Phil Lanning.

Image by Taylor Lanning.