Monaghan man Shane McGuirk ended a whirlwind few days with a defeat against Nathan Aspinall at the Winmau World Masters in Milton Keynes.
McGuirk, 30, only won his PDC tour card earlier this month, but qualified for the prestigious event after beating compatriot Niall Culleton and Belgian Stefaan Henderyck in the preliminary group stage before recording knockout wins over Scotland's Cameron Menzies, Keane Barry from Co Meath, and England's Scott Waites.
The top 24 players from the PDC order of merit automatically qualified for the 32-player main event at Milton Keynes, with the remaining eight players sealing their spots in Wednesday's preliminary rounds.
McGuirk started well, winning the first set, but Aspinall soon showed his quality, winning six consecutive legs en route to a 3-1 victory.
FLYING START FOR SHANE!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 29, 2026
That is sensational!
Shane McGuirk produces an unconventional 141 finish to snatch the opening set against Nathan Aspinall!
📺 https://t.co/H0LdnPGI59#WinmauWorldMasters pic.twitter.com/TXD2PYlBuk
Damon Heta pulled off an upset as he knocked out world number four Michael van Gerwen with a 3-1 victory in Milton Keynes.
Dutchman van Gerwen had been looking to build on his promising start to the season which saw him lift the Bahrain Masters title and also reach the final in Saudi Arabia, where he was beaten by world champion Luke Littler.
World number 17 Heta, though, made a strong start, taking the first set with a break before moving 2-1 ahead.
Both players then failed to hold at the start of the fourth set, which Heta wrapped up with a fine 101 finish after van Gerwen had missed opportunities at double 10 and then double five.
World championship runner-up Gian van Veen - now the Dutch number one and set for his Premier League debut - secured safe passage into the last 16 of the first televised ranking event of the season with a 3-1 win over Ryan Joyce.
After Joyce had taken the opening set, van Veen - who reached the final of the Bahrain Masters - reeled off five straight legs to turn the match around before closing out victory after a maximum left him to finish off 46.
Veteran Gary Anderson - beaten by van Veen in the semi-finals at Alexandra Palace - survived a scare to come from behind and close out a 3-2 win over debutant qualifier Niels Zonneveld.
Jonny Clayton, Masters runner-up last year to Luke Humphries, held off spirited Dutch qualifier Wessel Nijman 3-1, landing checkouts of 161 and 136.
Fellow Welshman Gerwyn Price then coasted past James Hurrell 3-0 with a match average of 108 to maintain his promising start to the 2026 campaign, having reaching the semi-finals in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
James Wade battled past Latvia's Madars Razma 3-2, while in the opening match of the evening at Arena MK, former Masters champion Chris Dobey swept past Jermaine Wattimena 3-0 and will play Heta in the last 16.
