Defending champion Michael van Gerwen suffered a shock 6-5 defeat to Daryl Gurney in the opening round of the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. The Dutch top seed, who was hoping to win a record-extending seventh title, was left to rue six missed match darts as Gurney completed a stunning comeback.
Gurney, a late replacement for Lourence Ilagan who withdrew from the 32-man field, raced into a 3-0 lead before Van Gerwen reeled off five consecutive legs to put himself on the brink of victory. However, the Northern Irishman responded by taking the ninth leg, and when Van Gerwen missed six match darts, Gurney levelled at 5-5 and won the decider with the throw. He will now face England's Ross Smith in the last 16 on Saturday after Smith advanced past Kevin Doets 6-3.
World number one Luke Littler will get under way on Friday against former UK Open champion Danny Noppert, having recently whitewashed the Dutchman 6-0 on his way to winning the Czech Darts Open. World number two Luke Humphries also emerged victorious in another England versus Netherlands encounter, progressing 6-4 against Jermaine Wattimena.
Dutch number one Gian van Veen gained a measure of revenge for the home fans with a 6-2 triumph over Chris Dobey. Dirk van Duijvenbode fought back from 4-1 down to defeat Sweden's Viktor Tingstrom 6-4, while Ryan Searle threw four 180s as he dispatched former world champion Rob Cross 6-2. Searle goes on to play Josh Rock, who won the last three legs to edge out Stephen Bunting 6-5.
Karel Sedlacek marked his debut at the tournament with a 6-4 win over New Zealander Ben Robb and will take on Van Veen next.
