"I'd love to win it again. I feel at the minute I've got the game to go all the way and win it"
Wednesday 7 October 2020 17:36, UK
Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and James Wade are part of an exclusive club. The decorated trio are the only men in PDC history to have lifted multiple World Grand Prix titles, and now Daryl Gurney is bidding to join that illustrious list.
The unique double-start event has been a breakthrough tournament for several established names. Colin Lloyd's 2004 triumph marked the former world No 1's first major success, while Van Gerwen's maiden PDC major crown in 2012 laid the foundations for a decade of dominance.
The 2017 Grand Prix provided Gurney's big moment. He edged out Simon Whitlock in a thrilling final to clinch his first televised title, which catapulted him into the world's top eight - a position he has cemented ever since.
However, having not lifted a major crown since the Players Championship Finals in November 2018, Gurney is hungrier than ever as he targets a return to the winner's circle in Coventry.
"I'd love to win it again. I feel at the minute I've got the game to go all the way and win it," Gurney told Sky Sports.
"It would be a great honour [to win it twice] but I'm more thinking that I would love to win another big major. I'd love to win a couple more majors and then I can say when my career is over I've done well.
"It doesn't matter who I play and how well they're playing, it just sometimes comes down to a wee bit of luck here and there - somebody misses a double, you take out a finish and that's the difference between winning a tournament and losing a tournament.
"When I won the Players Championship Finals, Ryan Searle had three darts at tops and he's one of the very best tops hitters, but he missed and I took it out and from then on, something clicked and I thought maybe this is my tournament."
The 34-year-old is one of three former champions to feature in this year's field and as seventh seed, you would be forgiven for assuming he would be among the favourites to prevail at the Ricoh Arena.
Gurney was 10th favourite at odds of 25/1 with the bookmakers before the start, although 'Super Chin' is renowned for flying under the radar in comparison with his rivals. However, it may also be indicative of his underwhelming 2020 to date.
The two-time major winner is yet to win a ranking title this season and with the exception of a semi-final appearance at March's UK Open, the fragmented campaign has not yielded the results befitting a player of Gurney's calibre.
The world No 7 is philosophical about his 'drought' and points towards the growing strength in depth within the PDC - evidenced by the six debutants competing in this year's Grand Prix.
"The standard in the PDC at the minute is unbelievable. There are people coming from anywhere and everywhere in the rankings and they win tournaments," he added.
"It's obviously great for the PDC, great for us and it shows that not just the top 16 or top 32 are putting in the dedication and practice to win tournaments.
"When I first joined the PDC seven years ago, there was about 20 proper professionals, now you could probably say there's triple that. It is improving all the time, there are a lot more players doing this as their full-time job and it is definitely worth their while."
Gurney's sentiments about the strength in depth are reaffirmed by a selection of the opening-round clashes thrown up in Coventry.
Two former world champions collided when Gary Anderson dumped out Rob Cross on Tuesday, while two-time finalist Dave Chisnall has been pitted against three-time BDO world champion Glen Durrant in another intriguing tussle.
Gurney has also been handed a tough assignment against world No 21 Joe Cullen, with 'The Rockstar' prevailing in seven of their previous 10 meetings.
The pair have not met for over two years, which is somewhat surprising given that neither are strangers to appearing in the latter stages of events, although Gurney defeated Cullen en route to Grand Prix glory in 2017.
"It definitely could be a good omen and hopefully he remembers that," said the 34-year-old.
"I still remember it was a very good game, I don't think there were many missed doubles. It is probably going to be the same again and I believe that Joe is playing better now than he was then.
"I'm probably a better player now too so it should be a cracking game but because it is such a short format in the first round, it lends itself to big upsets.
"I could go out and still average 100 in double-in, double-out and I could still get beat, that's just the standard of the PDC at the minute, the nature of the beast."
Gurney arguably does not get the credit or adulation he deserves. He is not the most flamboyant of characters and is not renowned for posting eye-watering averages, but his achievements speak volumes.
"I want more majors and more trophies so I'm still trying to find improvements in my game so I can go that extra step and give myself a chance of lifting another trophy."
He has progressed to at least the quarter-finals of every single major PDC ranking event, yet 'Super Chin' insists he is not satisfied with merely challenging - he wants to add to his title haul.
"I'm always trying to improve my game. I think every time I get to a semi-final, my manager always reminds me that I'm one of the few players in history to reach all these semi-finals, but I'm thinking it's not a great stat because I'm thinking I want to get to more finals and win more titles," he said.
"I want more majors and more trophies so I'm still trying to find improvements in my game so I can go that extra step and give myself a chance of lifting another trophy."
Darts returns to Sky Sports in October with the World Grand Prix and the Premier League Play-Offs. Follow us @SkySportsDarts to stay up to date with all the news.
