Daryl Gurney had the home supporters in full voice at the Citywest Hotel after knocking Adrian Lewis out of the World Grand Prix in Dublin on a night that saw world champion Michael van Gerwen make a shock exit.
The Irish world number one continued his recent good form - only defending champion and world number one Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright and Mensur Suljovic were ahead of him among the bookmakers – and duly dispatched the two-time world champion 2-1.
Lewis has never tasted victory in the competition and quickly found himself a set down.
Gurney took the opening two legs with minimal fuss, and after missing nine darts at double 16, eventually sealed the deal before appearing to apologise to his opponent.
The second set went with throw – including 124 checkout from ‘Jackpot’, and Lewis needing just one dart at D18 to level matters. He enjoyed riling the crowd who were fully behind Gurney, and the Irishman responded again in the third set.
He took all three legs, and sealed his passage to the next round with a double nine.
The shock of the night saw world number 32 John Henderson get the better of an out-of-sorts Van Gerwen.
The Scot took the opening two legs, and while the Dutchman rallied, a D10 ensured it was an early advantage for the underdog.
Van Gerwen, bidding for a fourth title in six years, took the second leg 3-0, but Anderson held his nerve in the decider. The Dutchman missed two shots at double allowing the Scot to edge ahead 2-1, and sealed a famous win to blow the tournament wide open.
Elsewhere Dave Chisnall proved far too strong for Jelle Klaasen. 'Chizzy' relled off the final five legs to win 2-1 with an aberage of more than 100 in an impressive first outing.
Raymond van Barneveld eased past Kyle Anderson 2-0, while Robert Thornton overcame a gritty performance from Kim Huybrechts 2-1.
Steve Beaton caused somewhat of an upset in defeating Rob Cross 2-0, while there were also wins for Alan Norris and Joe Cullen.
