World number one Michael van Gerwen suffered a huge upset on Thursday night as he was beaten 6-5 by Ross Smith in the first round of the European Championship.
The three-time world champion was the clear favourite, not only for the match, but also for the tournament, which he has won four times before.
Incredibly, MVG average over 105 while Smith ended on 98.64, but that mattered not as Smudger scored one of the biggest wins of his career.
The 30-year-old reached the UK Open quarter-finals this year, but this has come after taking a break from the sport in 2017 as results dwindled.
‘Never in a million years did I think I’d be experiencing a night like this from where I was a couple of years ago,’ said the world number 58.
‘I made the decision to just keep on going with my career in darts and tonight it all came together.
‘I’ve been preparing for this game for two weeks in my outdoor cabin, just focusing on playing the board rather than Michael.
‘If you play Michael you lose, it’s as simple as that. He’s the best player in the world by a mile so if you start thinking about beating him then you won’t.
‘You’ve just got to play the dartboard and that’s what I did tonight. I showed everyone how well I know I can play.’
Van Gerwen was coming off an impressive win at the Champions League of Darts, claiming the title for the first time in his career on Sunday evening.
His form had clearly not deserted him, as his stellar average showed, but Smith proved he can hang with the very best as he scored the shock victory.
The top half of the draw has now opened up completely, with other big names, James Wade and Glen Durrant also losing on Thursday night in Gottingen.
Defending champion Wade suffered a 6-0 whitewash defeat to Jonny Clayton, who threw the outrageous average of 111.33.
‘I’m so happy with how I played tonight, it’s a massive step in the right direction for me,’ said the world number 13.
‘I knew what I had to do and it went well. I know James didn’t play to his best at all but that’s when you’ve got to take your chances and that’s what I did.’
Durrant was fancied to do well this weekend but also fell at the first hurdle, losing out 6-5 to Ricky Evans on the BDO world champion’s debut in the tournament.
Evans and Smith will now meet in the last 16, while Clayton takes on the in-form Dave Chisnall after his comfortable win over Dimitri van den Bergh.
There were also first round wins for Daryl Gurney, Simon Whitlock, Rob Cross and Joe Cullen on Thursday night.
European Championship first round results
Joe Cullen 6-2 Mervyn King
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Ricky Evans 6-5 Glen Durrant
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Adrian Lewis
Rob Cross 6-3 Darren Webster
Jonny Clayton 6-0 James Wade
Ross Smith 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Daryl Gurney 6-4 William O’Connor
MORE: Michael van Gerwen explains why ‘darts needs people like Gerwyn Price’
