Maiden Premier League Victory for Gurney
DARYL GURNEY got his first Unibet Premier League win on his 32nd birthday and celebrated with a cup of TEA.
Superchin finally grabbed a vital victory 7-3 over Mensur Suljovic at the SSE Hydro.
The Derry ace won with a double 16, ironically on his 32nd birthday and admitted it was a massive relief to finally taste glory after four draws.
He said: “It’s a big birthday present to be honest. Obviously it’s a relief because it’s been tough to keep getting the draws.
“I got to 6-3 up and thought to myself, be aggressive, don’t try and defend. So I just kept battering away and this time it worked.
“There will be no big party in Glasgow, it’s a cup of tea for me to celebrate. I want to watch Gary Anderson’s walk-on in Glasgow because the atmosphere is something else, and I’m still just a fan.
“It’s a massive win for me after the four draws. It’s put me up the table a bit. I’m not looking at the top four right now, it’s just keep winning then I’ll look at the table.
“I’m not in this Premier League just to make up the numbers, I want to make an impact and the only way to do that is keep getting wins.
“Tonight went totally to plan to be honest. When it was 3-3 I thought ‘oh no not again’ I just didn’t want another draw.
“But I showed I could kick on and get the win when I needed to. Now I’ve got to keep it going next week.”
GARY ANDERSON sent Glasgow wild with a vital win and then admitted: “This is for Jocky Wilson.” The Flying Scotsman beat Simon Whitlock 7-4 on a spine-tingling night at the SSE Hydro in front of a sell-out 10,000. Ando had the Dartan Army dancing in the aisles with a clinical win over the Wizard of Oz, his fifth straight PL win in Glasgow and remains unbeaten at the Hydro. He then dedicated the win to his idol Wilson, who died six years ago, on the day it would have been his 68th birthday. In an emotional tribute, he said: “I never knew the date before the game, but happy birthday, Jocky. “I’ve played darts with the likes of Raymond van Barneveld, Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor and they have all played games with Jocky. I never did. “I never actually met him. He finished when I was starting. Maybe I am glad as he might have had me up late at night, allegedly. “But it’s a great feeling to know that I won on Jocky’s birthday and for the fans who were amazing.” Anderson, 47, was always in control of the clash against the Wizard. He roared into a 4-1 lead which included a slick 101 finish. Whitlock gamely battled on despite the din to stay in contention at 6-3 but Anderson wrapped it up with a clinical 74 in two darts. Ando added: “I’ve been struggling last few months. But we are getting there now. “When the first dart dropped under the 60 I thought ‘oh no I’m going to get crucified’. But I managed to keep going and drop over the line. “Some of the darts were good and some were very bad. I’m getting better every week but it’s been a struggle in the Premier League for some reason. “After so many draws it was a relief to get a win. I was lucky in some of those matches to get draws so this was important.”
MICHAEL van Gerwen came from 2-0 down to win seven successive legs to dump Michael Smith and go clear at the top of the league. MVG said: “I made a lot of mistakes at the end and my scoring power wasn’t there. “I had a pain in my shouldera nd when I was trying to hit the treble 20, it was dropping. “I had a 148 finish which came at the right moment. If I wasn’t at it, Michael would have been on my heels and you have to play well to beat him. “In my opinion, it’s tougher to top the table than win the tournament. “I want to be top as I have been the previous years and you want to get a rhythm and a good feeling for the next games. “I’m playing steady, I’m not making too many mistakes and I just keep winning games.”
ROB CROSS is quietly going about his business and racked up his FIFTH successive win against Gerwyn Price. The Welshman, who is still looking for his first Premier League victory, missed darts to take a 2-0 after breaking in the first leg and was unable to recover from then onwards. Cross went on to average 102.57 and landed a 143 checkout as he hit seven doubles from 10 attempts, and is now level on 10 points with Michael Smith, with the pair only separated by leg difference. Voltage said: “It took me a couple of legs to settle, but when I started to play I played well and it's a good win for me. “I'm feeling comfortable and I've got a good routine now. You can't win every week but you want to perform and I'm in a good place at the moment. “I'm playing well and I'll look forward to the next game now. I've turned it around after the first couple of weeks and I'm really happy with my game. I'm clinical at the end of legs and that's the biggest thing for me.”
By Phil Lanning (@lannomedia)
GARY ANDERSON sent Glasgow wild with a vital win and then admitted: “This is for Jocky Wilson.” The Flying Scotsman beat Simon Whitlock 7-4 on a spine-tingling night at the SSE Hydro in front of a sell-out 10,000. Ando had the Dartan Army dancing in the aisles with a clinical win over the Wizard of Oz, his fifth straight PL win in Glasgow and remains unbeaten at the Hydro. He then dedicated the win to his idol Wilson, who died six years ago, on the day it would have been his 68th birthday. In an emotional tribute, he said: “I never knew the date before the game, but happy birthday, Jocky. “I’ve played darts with the likes of Raymond van Barneveld, Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor and they have all played games with Jocky. I never did. “I never actually met him. He finished when I was starting. Maybe I am glad as he might have had me up late at night, allegedly. “But it’s a great feeling to know that I won on Jocky’s birthday and for the fans who were amazing.” Anderson, 47, was always in control of the clash against the Wizard. He roared into a 4-1 lead which included a slick 101 finish. Whitlock gamely battled on despite the din to stay in contention at 6-3 but Anderson wrapped it up with a clinical 74 in two darts. Ando added: “I’ve been struggling last few months. But we are getting there now. “When the first dart dropped under the 60 I thought ‘oh no I’m going to get crucified’. But I managed to keep going and drop over the line. “Some of the darts were good and some were very bad. I’m getting better every week but it’s been a struggle in the Premier League for some reason. “After so many draws it was a relief to get a win. I was lucky in some of those matches to get draws so this was important.”
MICHAEL van Gerwen came from 2-0 down to win seven successive legs to dump Michael Smith and go clear at the top of the league. MVG said: “I made a lot of mistakes at the end and my scoring power wasn’t there. “I had a pain in my shouldera nd when I was trying to hit the treble 20, it was dropping. “I had a 148 finish which came at the right moment. If I wasn’t at it, Michael would have been on my heels and you have to play well to beat him. “In my opinion, it’s tougher to top the table than win the tournament. “I want to be top as I have been the previous years and you want to get a rhythm and a good feeling for the next games. “I’m playing steady, I’m not making too many mistakes and I just keep winning games.”
ROB CROSS is quietly going about his business and racked up his FIFTH successive win against Gerwyn Price. The Welshman, who is still looking for his first Premier League victory, missed darts to take a 2-0 after breaking in the first leg and was unable to recover from then onwards. Cross went on to average 102.57 and landed a 143 checkout as he hit seven doubles from 10 attempts, and is now level on 10 points with Michael Smith, with the pair only separated by leg difference. Voltage said: “It took me a couple of legs to settle, but when I started to play I played well and it's a good win for me. “I'm feeling comfortable and I've got a good routine now. You can't win every week but you want to perform and I'm in a good place at the moment. “I'm playing well and I'll look forward to the next game now. I've turned it around after the first couple of weeks and I'm really happy with my game. I'm clinical at the end of legs and that's the biggest thing for me.”
By Phil Lanning (@lannomedia)