WILLIAM O'CONNOR stunned Michael van Gerwen at the Dutch Darts Championship with a 6-1 victory as the Irish ace stole the headlines in a dramatic second round in Maastricht.
Van Gerwen had run out an 8-2 winner when the pair met in the European Darts Matchplay final in Hamburg earlier this year and was aiming to claim his eighth European Tour win of 2018.
However, the clinical Irish ace capitalised on a below-par display from the world number one to finish six doubles from seven attempts in a brilliant performance.
The opening two legs were shared, but O'Connor took the third and then broke throw in the fourth with a 13-darter to move 3-1 up.
He capitalised on two misses at double 16 from Van Gerwen in the fifth, and then landed back-to-back 14-darters to secure a memorable victory.
The defeat was Van Gerwen's first in the last 32 of a European Tour event since October 2015, as O'Connor set up a third round tie with Ricky Evans on Sunday afternoon.
"I'm so proud of myself," admitted O'Connor. "I had the 'undo-able' task and I've done it!
"I always feel like I can beat anybody. Michael wasn't on his game but my finishing has been absolutely unbelievable so if I can get my scoring together I'm definitely in there with a shout."
O'Connor's fellow qualifier Evans struck a magnificent 122 finish on the bullseye to defeat Steve West 6-5 as he also moved into the last 16.
Ross Smith produced a remarkable comeback from 5-1 down to claim victory over Max Hopp, taking out 160 to snatch the win in a deciding leg against the German Darts Open winner.
"I kept plugging away - I just tried to keep calm and throw like I have been doing," said Smith, who also took out a 147 finish during his fightback.
"I've been playing like that for most of the tour this year but this win means a lot to me. Max is a fantastic player and I've been in that position before of being so far in front and losing."
Smith now takes on Ritchie Edhouse for a place in the quarter-finals, after the qualifier knocked out number five seed James Wade 6-4.
Typically clinical finishing helped Wade hold an early advantage, but missed chances to break throw in legs six and eight were punished when Edhouse finished 121 to move 5-4 up before sealing the win.
"On stage it's the biggest game I've won in my career and I'm so happy," said Edhouse. "I had a bit of fortune, but I'll take it. I like Ross and it will be a very good game."
Defeat for Austrian Darts Open winner Jonny Clayton - who lost out 6-3 to Kyle Anderson - means that there will be a new 2018 champion on the European Tour from Sunday's final stages.
Australian ace Anderson pulled clear from three-all to book his third round spot against Jeffrey de Graaf, who is the last remaining Dutchman going into day three.
Host Nation Qualifier De Graaf delighted the Maastricht crowd with a 6-3 success over Stephen Bunting, sealing the win with a 108 checkout.
World number two Peter Wright was a 6-2 winner over Kevin Painter, hitting six doubles from 11 attempts as he moves through to take on Dave Chisnall in round three.
Last weekend's European Tour average record-breaker Chisnall continued his unbeaten run on the big stage against Rowby-John Rodriguez with a 6-3 triumph over Friday's top performer.
Daryl Gurney survived two missed match darts from Ryan Searle before he finally claimed victory from their tie in a dramatic deciding leg to set up a tasty tie with Joe Cullen.
Cullen continued his consistent form on the continent, making it through to the final day of European Tour for the tenth time this year with a 6-4 victory over Welsh veteran Barrie Bates.
Ian White impressed with a 102 average as he saw off former World Youth Champion Arron Monk 6-4, coming from 4-2 down to sweep to victory.
Mervyn King secured a dominant 6-2 win over Lithuania's Darius Labanauskas, with the former European Tour event winner now set to take on White.
Josh Payne knocked out 11th seed Darren Webster, taking out finishes of 126 and 106 as he moved through to the final day in Maastricht.
Two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis produced a high-quality performance to defeat Wayne Jones 6-1 and breeze through to Sunday afternoon’s last 16.
Lewis averaged almost 98 and proved too strong for Jones, despite a 164 finish in the opener gaining the Wolverhampton ace his only leg of the contest.
"I love playing in the Netherlands, the crowd are fantastic and it brought back many memories of when I first played here," said Lewis.
"My main aim is to push up as far as I can go and keep concentrating, making sure I build on that as we approach the back end of the year."
Lewis now meets Payne in the third round, and added: "Josh did really well against Darren. He dug in deep so I need to make sure I do my job tomorrow and keep on top of him."
Simon Whitlock began his challenge to claim a second European Tour success in the Netherlands - following his 2012 Dutch Darts Masters win - as he swept past Spain's Cristo Reyes 6-1.
Whitlock now plays Darren Johnson, who was another 11-leg winner as he progressed against Welsh ace Gerwyn Price.
The Dutch Darts Championship will be broadcast throughout the weekend for PDCTV-HD Subscribers, and through a series of bookmakers' websites worldwide.
2018 Dutch Darts Championship
Saturday September 8
Second Round
Afternoon Session
Ricky Evans 6-5 Steve West
Mervyn King 6-2 Darius Labanauskas
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Joe Cullen 6-4 Barrie Bates
Josh Payne 6-3 Darren Webster
Darren Johnson 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Adrian Lewis 6-1 Wayne Jones
Evening Session
Ross Smith 6-5 Max Hopp
Ian White 6-4 Arron Monk
Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 James Wade
Daryl Gurney 6-5 Ryan Searle
Peter Wright 6-2 Kevin Painter
William O'Connor 6-1 Michael van Gerwen
Kyle Anderson 6-3 Jonny Clayton
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Cristo Reyes
Sunday September 9
Third Round
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST)
William O'Connor v Ricky Evans
Joe Cullen v Daryl Gurney
Ritchie Edhouse v Ross Smith
Kyle Anderson v Jeffrey de Graaf
Peter Wright v Dave Chisnall
Simon Whitlock v Darren Johnson
Adrian Lewis v Josh Payne
Ian White v Mervyn King
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
O'Connor/Evans v Cullen/Gurney
Edhouse/Smith v Anderson/De Graaf
Wright/Chisnall v Whitlock/Johnson
Lewis/Payne v White/King
Semi-Finals
v
v
Final
v
Sunday’s games played in Draw Bracket order
Watch Online
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