Daryl Gurney dethrones Michael van Gerwen at the World Series of Darts Finals
Daryl Gurney ousted defending champion Michael van Gerwen in a dramatic last-leg decider on the opening night of the 2026 World Series Finals in Amsterdam on Thursday.
Day One of the £450,000 event saw eight first round ties take place at the AFAS Live, with six-time champion Van Gerwen suffering his earliest ever exit at the expense of a resilient Gurney.
The Northern Irishman romped into a 3-0 lead, following up legs of 11 and 13 darts with a sensational 170 checkout to leave the partisan Dutch crowd stunned.
Van Gerwen came roaring back with a superb five-leg burst to seize control at 5-3, but only to remarkably squander six match darts in a dramatic penultimate leg, before Gurney completed the turnaround after a disastrous string of scoring visits from his opponent.
“That’s been a long time coming,” insisted Gurney. “I can’t remember the last time I won a game like that on the big stage, so I’m very pleased with myself.
“I’ve been through some tough times over the last couple of months, so to get over the finish line against Michael, in Amsterdam – I’m very pleased with myself.”
Van Gerwen was one of three Dutch stars to crash out opening night, though Gian van Veen enjoyed a winning start on home soil, running out an emphatic 6-2 winner against Chris Dobey.
“Chris and I were not playing at our best, but the crowd got me through that tonight,” insisted the world number three.
“I want to thank them all for their support tonight and hopefully it will be the same on Saturday.
“There is always going to be pressure playing in front of your home crowd. As a Dutchman we don’t experience that often, so to do it here in Amsterdam is fantastic.”
Meanwhile, Luke Humphries launched his title challenge with a 6-4 success against Jermaine Wattimena, producing an inspired mid-match spell to seal his progress.
Humphries landed a magnificent 132 checkout to claim a crucial break of throw in leg five, which was preceded by a brilliant 171 set-up shot and followed by successive maximums.
“I really enjoyed that. It was a great atmosphere and the crowd were amazing,” said Humphries.
“We were both able to flow and it was a really good game until those missed darts at double, but I fell over the line at the end.
“Scoring wise it was a great performance. My doubles weren’t great but I feel that’s a common theme of my game at the moment.
“I just need to put both parts together to perform at that highest level that everyone knows I can.”
Former finalist Dirk van Duijvenbode completed a spirited comeback to defeat Sweden’s Viktor Tingstrom in the evening’s opener, reeling off five consecutive legs from 4-1 down to triumph with six 180s along the way.
Josh Rock prevailed in arguably the match of the night against Stephen Bunting, overturning a 5-3 deficit and surviving a match dart to book a meeting with World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle.
Bunting raced into an early lead courtesy of a sublime 161 checkout, only for Rock to respond with a three-leg flurry in the latter stages, which also saw him survive a dart at the bullseye in the penultimate leg.
Searle, meanwhile, marked his World Series Finals debut with a clinical 6-2 success against Rob Cross, converting 66 per cent of his attempts at doubles in the process.
Ross Smith, a two-time European Tour event winner this year, put in a ruthless display to end the hopes of home favourite Kevin Doets, averaging 102 in wrapping up a 6-3 victory.
Karel Sedlacek also impressed in the Dutch capital, averaging 99.4 to win through a high-quality affair against New Zealand’s Ben Robb – who succumbed 6-4 despite boasting a perfect doubling success rate.
World Series of Darts Finals 2026 Day One Results
Thursday September 17
First Round
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4 Viktor Tingstrom
Ryan Searle 6-2 Rob Cross
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Ben Robb
Ross Smith 6-3 Kevin Doets
Stephen Bunting 5-6 Josh Rock
Luke Humphries 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena
Michael van Gerwen 5-6 Daryl Gurney
Gian van Veen 6-2 Chris Dobey
