Gurney reached the quarter finals of the 2008 Scottish Open, beating Andy Boulton and Alan Soutar before losing to Shaun Greatbatch. He then reached the final of the 2008 WDF Europe Cup, beating Stig Jorgensen in the quarter finals and then beat Fabian Roosenbrand 4–0 in the semi-finals before losing to defending champion Mark Webster 4–0 in the final.

Gurney qualified for the 2009 BDO World Championships, beating former World Masters finalist Jarkko Komula before defeating Belgium's Kim Huybrechts to become the first Northern Irish player to qualify for Lakeside since Mitchell Crooks in 2001. He defeated 14th seed Garry Thompson in the first round to set up a second round encounter with 2007 champion and reigning Masters champion Martin Adams. Gurney put up a brave fight, levelling the match at one set all and then two sets all before Adams' experience paid off as he took the next two sets for a 4–2 win.

The following year, Gurney qualified again, and once more played the 14th seed in the first round, this time the debuting Scott Mitchell. Gurney won the first two sets before Mitchell levelled the match and took a 2–0 lead in the decider, hitting nine out of twelve darts at double. But Gurney eventually prevailed 4–2 with consistent scoring. He once again played Adams in the second round, and once again was defeated. Adams went on to win the title.

In June 2012, Gurney won the England Masters, Northern Ireland Open and the Tom Kirby Memorial Trophy. In winning the latter he earned a spot in the preliminary round of the 2013 PDC World Championship, where he edged out Robert Marijanović 4–3 in legs. Gurney then beat Andy Smith 3–1 in sets in the first round. He lost each of the first three sets in a deciding leg in the second round against Dave Chisnall and outscored him in the 180 count, but was beaten 4–1. In January 2013, Gurney entered Q School in an attempt to win a two-year PDC tour card and was successful on the second day by winning six matches, concluding with a 6–2 victory over Paul Amos. His best result in his debut year on the tour came at the German Darts Championship, where Gurney defeated Colin Lloyd, Ronnie Baxter and Simon Whitlock in reaching the quarter-finals, but his run came to an end when he lost 6–2 against Peter Wright.

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