Champion Van Gerwen stunned in opening round by Gurney in Amsterdam
Defending champion Michael van Gerwen squandered a strong lead to lose 6-5 to Daryl Gurney in the first round of the World Series of Darts Finals, while other seeds progressed smoothly.
The World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam produced a shock result as defending champion and Dutch number one Michael van Gerwen was eliminated in round one, beaten 6-5 by Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney.
Gurney, a late call-up after Lourence Ilagan withdrew from the 32-player field, made a strong start by racing to a 3-0 lead. Van Gerwen hit back with five straight legs, putting himself within touching distance of victory.
But Gurney refused to fold, clawing back the ninth leg. Van Gerwen then missed six match darts, allowing Gurney to level at 5-5 before winning the decisive leg on his own throw.
Gurney advances to Saturday's last 16, where he will face England's Ross Smith, who beat Kevin Doets 6-3 in the previous round.
Other results
World number one Luke Littler begins his campaign on Friday against former UK Open champion Danny Noppert, whom he recently thrashed 6-0 at the Czech Darts Open. World number two Luke Humphries beat Jermaine Wattimena 6-4.
Dutch number one Gian van Veen defeated Chris Dobey 6-2, while Dirk van Duijvenbode recovered from a 4-1 deficit to beat Sweden's Viktor Tingstrom 6-4. Ryan Searle, hitting four maximum 180s, saw off former world champion Rob Cross 6-2 and will next face Josh Rock, who won the final three legs to edge Stephen Bunting 6-5. Czech debutant Karel Sedlacek beat New Zealand's Ben Robb 6-4 and will meet Van Veen in the next round.
