"All of a sudden, I was in a headlock — and it was from Gezzy" - Daryl Gurney denies animosity between him and Price after World Matchplay bust-up

Daryl Gurney has squashed any rumours about bad blood between himself and Gerwyn Price after the pair got into a heated altercation on at the World Matchplay. The World Cup champion spoke to Dartsnews.com about this after his 2-0 victory against Ross Smith at the World Grand Prix. They meet again at the European Championship tonight.

The 2017 champion produced some sublime finishing, racking up a 67% checkout rate at the end of legs. He missed the bull for a big fish in the first leg but cleaned up before taking the remaining legs to clinch the first set. Smudger got off the board at the start of set two, but checkouts of 73 and 93 propelled the Northern Irishman within touching distance of victory, wrapping it up in the next leg.

"I wouldn’t say it was so straightforward," Gurney said. "I mean, Ross was so unlucky. Every time he threw, his darts were on the top wire. The way he sets up, I thought, 'Right, he’s guaranteed a ton here,' and then he’d hit the top two darts and just drift below for a 60. That happened maybe eight or nine times. I was very lucky that he hit 60s instead of tons. The scoreline might look straightforward, but in my head and my heart, it didn’t feel that way."

Formerly ranked as high as three in the world, Super Chin is not at the same level he once was, not possessing that same quality on the oche. He sees himself as the underdog going into ties, not at the level to be challenging for titles.

"To be honest, you’ve got as big a clue as I do. Honestly, I play every game now like I’m not the favourite. I feel like that kind of evens things up and gives me the chance to come back and win games — like I did against Ross. What he did last Wednesday, after the week he’s had, that man deserves a medal. Even tonight, he was very unlucky against me in the trebles, and I just seemed to hit every double possible.

"That 95 checkout — I’ve never, ever in my life thought I’d go double 19, double 19, but it worked out! Ross deserves a medal after the week he’s had. I’m in a similar frame of mind to Joe Cullen — we just don’t know which version of ourselves is going to turn up. Joe turns up and wins tournaments; I turn up and maybe win my board or get to the semi-finals of a Players Championship. That’s where I’m at right now."

He stated that he lacks confidence in his game, which is preventing him from advancing any further through competitions. "I feel like I’ve got the game. I just need a little bit more confidence in myself," he said. "Right now, I’ve got more doubt than confidence. If I can overcome that — and that only comes with wins — then maybe I can start to believe again. Look at what Dirk van Duijvenbode did last year — nobody expected him to come from nowhere and win, but he did it. He was the best player that week and deserved it. So yeah, a little bit more confidence, a little bit more belief, give myself chances — and we’ll take it from there."

The tension was through the roof when the pair met at the Winter Gardens. When The Iceman sealed the match, he celebrated very passionately, in typical Gerwyn Price fashion. When shaking Gurney's hand, the duo exchanged some heated words. This took the headlines at the time, but it seems that it has al been cleared up by the two major winners.

"That all came about in Hildesheim. I got beat early in my second game and stayed around to support Scott Williams. I was sitting at the table like this, and all of a sudden, I was in a headlock — and it was from Gezzy," Gurney said. "But honestly, there was no bad feeling between me and Gerwyn from my side anyway.

"He was the better player in Blackpool. I went behind, and I just thought, “Enjoy yourself, he’s playing so well.” For me, Gezi’s the second-best player in the world, behind Luke [Littler]. I held in there, took out a nice 150, but he was too strong and too consistent over that format. When I was behind, I just thought I’d enjoy myself — probably enjoyed it too much! So yeah, I deserved what I got in the end. But there’s no bad blood — Gezi’s a great player, and whenever we see each other, we’re always laughing and joking twice as much as before."