{
  "id": 8106415,
  "title": "Champion Van Gerwen loses in first round to Gurney",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/champion-van-gerwen-loses-in-first-round-to-gurney",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-17T21:38:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC Sport",
    "slug": "bbc-sport",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/darts/articles/crje8nkdkj28o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the opening round of the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam, defending champion Michael van Gerwen suffered a 6-5 loss to Daryl Gurney. The Northern Irish player took an early 3-0 lead, but Van Gerwen made a strong comeback by winning five consecutive legs. However, Gurney, who was a late replacement for Lourence Ilagan, managed to take the ninth leg. Van Gerwen then missed six match darts, allowing Gurney to equalize the match at 5-5. The Dutch player secured the win with the final throw. Gurney will face England's Ross Smith in the next round after advancing past Kevin Doets 6-3. Meanwhile, Luke Littler will begin his match against former UK Open champion Danny Noppert on Friday, having previously defeated Noppert 6-0 in the Czech Darts Open. Luke Humphries also secured a win against Jermaine Wattimena, progressing 6-4. Dutch number one Gian van Veen avenged his country's loss with a 6-2 victory over Chris Dobey. Dirk van Duijvenbode overcame a 4-1 deficit to defeat Viktor Tingstrom 6-4, and Ryan Searle, who threw four 180s, beat former world champion Rob Cross 6-2. Searle will face Josh Rock next, who won the last three legs to defeat Stephen Bunting 6-5. Karel Sedlacek made his tournament debut with a 6-4 win over New Zealander Ben Robb and will face Gian van Veen in his next match.",
  "summary": "Defending champion Michael van Gerwen falls to a 6-5 defeat by Daryl Gurney in the opening round of the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam.",
  "key_points": [
    "Michael van Gerwen loses 6-5 to Daryl Gurney in World Series of Darts Finals",
    "Gurney advances to face Ross Smith in next round",
    "Luke Littler to play Danny Noppert in first match"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}