Defending champion Michael van Gerwen fell to a 6-5 defeat by Daryl Gurney in the opening round of the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam.

Northern Ireland’s Gurney raced into a 3-0 lead before the Dutch top seed reeled off five consecutive legs to put himself on the brink of victory.

However, Gurney, who was drafted in as a late replacement when Lourence Ilagan withdrew from the 32-man field, responded by taking the ninth leg.

And when Van Gerwen missed six match darts, he was able to level the match at 5-5 and win the decider with the throw.

Gurney will now take on England’s Ross Smith in the last 16 on Saturday after he advanced past Kevin Doets 6-3.

World number one Luke Littler will get under way on Friday against former UK Open champion Danny Noppert, having recently whitewashed the Dutchman 6-0 on his way to winning the Czech Darts Open.

World number two Luke Humphries also emerged victorious in another England versus Netherlands encounter, progressing 6-4 against Jermaine Wattimena.

Dutch number one Gian van Veen gained a measure of revenge for the home fans with a 6-2 triumph over Chris Dobey.

Dirk van Duijvenbode fought back from 4-1 down to defeat Sweden’s Viktor Tingstrom 6-4, while Ryan Searle threw four 180s as he dispatched former world champion Rob Cross 6-2.

Searle goes on to play Josh Rock, who won the last three legs to edge out Stephen Bunting 6-5.

Karel Sedlacek marked his debut at the tournament with a 6-4 win over New Zealander Ben Robb and will take on Van Veen next.