The Great Escape!

DARYL GURNEY pulled off one of the greatest Unibet Premier League escape acts – now he wants to aim for the top four.

The World No.7 lost his clash with Peter Wright but avoided elimination after Rob Cross lost his third successive match.

Gurney’s two wins on previous nights had pulled him off the bottom of the league and that was enough to save his PL skin.

Now he’s focused on pushing for a place in the top four to complete the most remarkable recovery from a sluggish start.

He said: “I wasn’t particularly happy with the way I played against Peter. Then it was an anxious wait to see how Rob played.

“Glen went into a 3-0 lead and I started to relax until Rob came back to level it up. Then it got pretty nervy again.

“In the end Glen saw out the job and I genuinely feel sorry for Rob. Someone had to get eliminated but I guess in the end I’m just glad it’s not me.

“I came back to the Premier League just aiming to win these three matches so I didn’t have the lowest ever points total. But to stay in it is a real bonus.

“To be honest, I don’t want to dwell on surviving. I need to look up the table now and set my mind to pushing for a top four place.”

Gurney is currently four points off a play-off place and kicks off that tough bid against Michael Smith tonight in Milton Keynes.

He added: “It’s a big ask but then again people wrote me off before the start of the week getting off the bottom. I needed two wins to do that and I did it.

“The Premier League is a weird place sometimes. You get into good and bad ruts. If I can get my belief back then I can reel off a few wins and that might be enough.”

Written by Phil Lanning
Inages by Taylor Lanning