Michael van Gerwen's World Series of Darts Finals title defence was halted immediately in Amsterdam as the defending champion squandered six match darts against Daryl Gurney and fell 6-5 in a deciding leg at AFAS Live.
Van Gerwen had trailed 3-0 before battling back impressively, but the manner of the defeat left him devastated. "I don't get it. I come back so well," he lamented afterwards on Viaplay. "I'm 3-0 down, and I think I throw 13, 13, 14, 15 and 13 darts. In the last leg there's absolutely nothing wrong. I just miss six darts. It makes no sense at all. I'm sick to my stomach."
The Dutchman had two visits to close out the match but failed to find the required double, and he was especially hard on himself for the first missed chances. "That just can't happen. Especially not that first visit. You're stuck on double 10 and you're already making it very hard for yourself. I'm really absolutely gutted. Good grief. Totally unnecessary."
Gurney started superbly and raced into a 3-0 lead, and while Van Gerwen was satisfied with the way he fought back, he took little solace from it afterwards. "He starts well, of course. He starts the match fantastically. Then you have to claw your way back and try to arm yourself against that. I definitely did. Only to give a match away this easily, that just can't happen."
After the six missed match darts, Van Gerwen still had to play a deciding leg, and mentally the blow had already left its mark. "It feels like you've already hurt yourself so much. Your balls are on the chopping block at that moment, you know. I just shouldn't even get into that position, and that's on me. I'm really absolutely sick about this."
