Daryl Gurney has described Beau Greaves as "one of the best dart players on the planet" in a glowing endorsement of the 21-year-old sensation.

Gurney, 39, edged out Greaves in a five-set thriller at the PDC World Championship on Friday. There was little to separate them throughout the match, but a clutch 144 checkout from the Northern Irishman in the third leg of the final set proved critical.

It gave Gurney a 2-1 lead in the deciding fifth set and all he needed to do was win the next leg - with the throw - to progress into the second round at Alexandra Palace. And the world No.22 kept his nerve to clinch that leg, hitting double eight to seal a nail-biting 3-2 win.

"I am exhausted and relieved," Gurney said post-match.

"Beau, what a dart player. I didn't expect anything less when the draw came out. The only thing separating us was the 144 [checkout]."

Highlighting Greaves, Gurney added: "I think everyone in the room can accept she is one of the best dart players on the planet. She should be where she is now and that is getting her tour card and playing against all the great players next year."

Gurney and Greaves were spotted having a chat on stage after he found the winning double. Explaining what was said in that moment, Gurney admitted: "I said, 'thanks for giving me more grey hair!' No, I give her all the respect she deserves.

I said, 'next year you are going to be a handful, you are going to win tournaments and you should embrace the crowd because next year the crowd are going to be shouting for you again'. "It was more about respect than anything else."

Greaves had a sensational season in the Women's Series. Indeed, she went on a 86-game winning run to end the campaign and has sealed a PDC tour card for next year as a result of her performances on the Development Tour.

As for Gurney, next up is a second round tie against world No.42 Callan Rydz on Tuesday afternoon. Previewing that tie, Gurney was full of praise for the Newcastle native, who enjoyed a run to the quarter-final at last year's World Championship.

"I think, for me, Callan has been one of the best players at the Worlds over the last couple of years. He had a great game against Michael [van Gerwen] last year," Gurney finished. "I think it's going to be really difficult, he is a big scorer, a big finisher.

"It will be a big struggle to play against him. I said to myself, 'If I get through Beau it's going to be even harder against Callan. I messaged him before he played his game to wish him luck because he is one of the most talented darts players I've ever seen."