1:49 Daryl Gurney’s major breakthrough came courtesy of his World Grand Prix success in 2017
Did you know?
Gurney has won seven of his nine meetings against William O’Connor, including both of their tussles in major ranking events.
“Whenever I get up there I seem to put a lot more pressure on myself because obviously you’re playing for the biggest championship,” the 34-year-old said.
“I know I’ve got the game to go all the way and possibly win it, and whenever I’ve kept on getting beaten by players because I’ve missed doubles or blown chances, it’s disappointing.
“I don’t think me and Ally Pally get on very well, but I’ll keep on turning up and keep knocking on the door. Hopefully one year I will play my best and you never know what will happen.”
Anything is possible at the World Championship, particularly given the unpredictable nature of 2020, with Dimitri Van den Bergh, Glen Durrant and Jose De Sousa all scooping maiden PDC majors.
Having said that, if Gurney is to challenge for the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy, he will be forced to do it the hard way.
He will face former World Cup finalist William O’Connor in his opener on Thursday, while Chris Dobey, Nathan Aspinall, De Sousa and Gerwyn Price are among the seeded players in his quarter.
“I always feel that if you want to win the Worlds, you want to beat the best to be the best. [Nathan] Aspinall is one of my best friends and so is Gezzy [Price]. If I get that far I will be ready to play them. I don’t like to get an easy draw!
“At the moment Gezzy is top three in the world, maybe even the best player throughout this year, and Nathan isn’t that far behind. If I can get that far and beat them or give them a good game, we’ll see.”
2:01 Gurney will take on William O’Connor for a place in the third round, after the Irishman eased past Niels Zonneveld in straight sets
The question is, does Gurney believe he’s capable of lifting the World Championship title on January 3?
“I’ve definitely got the game. At the moment I’d tell you I haven’t got the confidence to go all the way.
“It is a matter of getting through that first game, getting that first win and then taking it from there.
“I think the first game will mean everything. If I can get through that then the confidence will start to come back.”
Don’t miss a dart this Christmas with the dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel all the way until January 4 with every session from the World Darts Championship, including the final on Sunday, January 3. Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @SkySportsDarts
Sourse: skysports.com
