Van Gerwen’s World Series defence ends in first-round shock
The defending champion fell to late replacement Daryl Gurney in Amsterdam, while Luke Humphries and Josh Rock secured second-round spots in a dramatic opening round.
Michael van Gerwen’s attempt to retain his World Series of Darts Finals title ended in the first round after a 6-5 defeat to Daryl Gurney in Amsterdam. The result marks just the second time the three-time world champion has lost his opening match at the event, extending a difficult season for the Dutchman.
Gurney, who entered the tournament as a late replacement, controlled the deciding leg despite significant crowd noise. The Northern Irishman secured his place in the draw after visa issues forced the withdrawal of Philippines players Alexis Toylo and Lourence Ilagan. As the highest-ranked players on the reserve list, Gurney and Maik Kuivenhoven stepped in to fill the vacancies.
The match was a tight contest, with Gurney initially racing into a 3-0 lead before Van Gerwen won the next five legs. However, Gurney stopped the momentum to make it 5-4, capitalising on Van Gerwen missing six match darts to break throw and hold his nerve for the victory. Gurney will face Ross Smith in the second round, who earlier defeated Kevin Doets 6-3.
Elsewhere on Thursday, Luke Humphries survived a dramatic contest to defeat Jermaine Wattimena 6-4. After sharing the first four legs, Humphries broke with a 132 checkout but missed eight match darts while leading 5-3. He eventually secured the win to set up a match against Dirk van Duijvenbode, who had recovered from 4-1 down to beat Viktor Tingstrom 6-4.
Josh Rock also advanced after defeating Stephen Bunting 6-5, winning the final three legs after Bunting missed match darts. Rock will play Ryan Searle, who defeated Rob Cross 6-2. In other first-round action, Gian van Veen beat Chris Dobey 6-2, and Karel Sedlacek defeated Ben Robb 6-4.
The first round concludes on Friday with high-profile players including Luke Littler, Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, James Wade, and Nathan Aspinall scheduled to compete. Littler, who has won every major title this year, aims to secure a second World Series of Darts Finals title.
