Michael van Gerwen eliminated from World Series of Darts Finals

Defending champion Michael van Gerwen was defeated by Daryl Gurney in the first round of the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. Gurney, a late replacement in the 32-man field, secured a 6-5 victory over the top-seeded Dutch player.

Gurney established an early 3-0 lead, but van Gerwen responded by winning five consecutive legs. However, Gurney fought back, leveling the match at 5-5 and then winning the deciding leg to advance. He will face Ross Smith in the last 16.

Other matches saw World number one Luke Littler set to play Danny Noppert. Luke Humphries advanced with a 6-4 win over Jermaine Wattimena. Gian van Veen defeated Chris Dobey 6-2, and Dirk van Duijvenbode came back from 4-1 down to beat Viktor Tingstrom 6-4.

Ryan Searle, who threw four 180s, defeated Rob Cross 6-2 and will play Josh Rock, who edged out Stephen Bunting 6-5. Karel Sedlacek marked his tournament debut with a 6-4 win over Ben Robb and will face Van Veen next.