Daryl Gurney has been called up to the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam after visa issues forced two players out of the September 17-20 event.
Gurney, from Northern Ireland, and Maik Kuivenhoven, from the Netherlands, were the highest-ranked players on the reserve list. They replace Philippines players Lourence Ilagan and Alexis Toylo, who did not receive a decision on their Schengen visa applications before having to travel to China this week for the final two events of the PDC Asian Tour season.
Gurney will face reigning tournament champion Michael van Gerwen in the first round at AFAS Live on Thursday September 17. Kuivenhoven plays Jonny Clayton the following day.
Gurney’s reward: a date with Van Gerwen
The draw hands Gurney a demanding opening test. Van Gerwen is the home favourite and the defending champion in Amsterdam.
Kuivenhoven faces Jonny Clayton on Friday September 18.
A top prize of £100,000 is on offer across the 32-player field.
Littler’s sweep bid heads to Amsterdam
Luke Littler, the 2024 champion, also features. He was beaten 11-7 by Van Gerwen in last year’s final and now heads to Amsterdam aiming to keep his bid for the first-ever clean sweep of majors in one year on track.
The world champion plays Danny Noppert in round one.
Luke Humphries opens against Jermaine Wattimena. Gian van Veen will face Chris Dobey.
The schedule runs across four days at AFAS Live:
- Thursday September 17 — Round One, eight matches, including Van Gerwen vs Gurney and Van Veen vs Dobey
- Friday September 18 — Round One, eight matches, including Littler vs Noppert and Clayton vs Kuivenhoven
- Saturday September 19 — Round Two, four matches in the afternoon and four in the evening
- Sunday September 20 — Quarter-Finals in the afternoon, then Semi-Finals and the Final in the evening
Full first-round card
Thursday’s session features Viktor Tingstrom vs Dirk van Duijvenbode, Rob Cross vs Ryan Searle, Karel Sedlacek vs Ben Robb, Kevin Doets vs Ross Smith, and Stephen Bunting vs Josh Rock alongside the Gurney and Van Veen matches.
Friday’s card includes Adam Leek vs Jim Long, Motomu Sakai vs Callan Rydz, Wessel Nijman vs Simon Whitlock, Nathan Aspinall vs Raymond Smith, James Wade vs Damon Heta, and Gerwyn Price vs Brody Klinge.
The second-round pairings are partly set. The winner of Van Gerwen vs Gurney plays the winner of Doets vs Ross Smith. Littler or Noppert will meet Aspinall or Raymond Smith in the last 16.
Sky Sports remains the home of darts this season. The World Grand Prix runs September 28-October 4, the Grand Slam of Darts follows November 14-22, and the World Darts Championship closes the year from December 10-January 3.
Source: skysports.com
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