Daryl Gurney stuns defending champion Michael van Gerwen at World Series of Darts Finals

The defending champion Michael van Gerwen saw his bid for a record-extending seventh World Series of Darts Finals title end in the opening round, as he fell 6-5 to Northern Ireland’s Daryl Gurney in Amsterdam.

Gurney, who entered the 32-man draw as a late replacement for the withdrawn Lourence Ilagan, stormed to a 3-0 lead before van Gerwen responded with five straight legs to edge toward victory. However, Gurney fought back to level the match at 5-5, capitalizing after van Gerwen missed six match darts to clinch the decider.

Gurney will advance to the last-16, where he faces England’s Ross Smith, having previously defeated Kevin Doets 6-3. He now turns his attention to that clash on Saturday.

Elsewhere, world number one Luke Littler is set to begin his campaign on Friday against former UK Open champion Danny Noppert. Littler arrives in strong form after whitewashing the Dutchman 6-0 to claim the Czech Darts Open title.

World number two Luke Humphries also secured his progression with a 6-4 win over compatriot Jermaine Wattimena in another England-versus-Netherlands showdown. Local hero Gian van Veen delighted home fans by avenging a previous loss with a 6-2 victory over Chris Dobey.

In other results, Dirk van Duijvenbode overcame a 4-1 deficit to beat Sweden’s Viktor Tingstrom 6-4. Ryan Searle, who hit four 180s, dispatched former world champion Rob Cross 6-2, setting up a match against Josh Rock. Rock reached this stage after edging out Stephen Bunting 6-5 by winning the final three legs. Meanwhile, Karel Sedlacek made a winning debut by beating New Zealander Ben Robb 6-4 and will next face Van Veen.