"It's strange to see the most sexiest man in darts retire": Daryl Gurney left surprised by sad Steve Beaton retirement news

Daryl Gurney produced one of his best ever displays at the PDC World Darts Championship to down Steve Beaton and secure his post Christmas progression. He won 3-1 in sets and averaged just over 100.

But Beaton was the centre of attention for Gurney post match who was surprised and saddened about his news surrounding his retirement citing that he is still qualifying for big tournaments so it comes as a shock but that maybe the time is right for him to step away.

"It's strange to see the most sexiest man in darts retire. It's bad to say that at 56 he's better looking than all the rest of us. Steve is a great lad, he plays darts in the right way, he just gets on with it. Good tempo," said Gurney post match.

"He's obviously looked after himself after all these years. This is his 33rd World Championship and I'm like 37 years old. So he's been playing nearly more World Championships than I've been alive. I am really surprised that he's going to retire as he obviously qualified for Blackpool, top 32 in the world and he was one of them."

"I thought if he was maybe just holding onto his tour card he would've done it then. But I think he's still playing well enough to get a couple more years but if he feels the time is right, then the time is right. Fair play to him, he's a darts legend and there is a lot of people like myself who look up to him."