World number one and tournament favourite Michael van Gerwen was on the end of a huge shock as he was dumped out of the World Matchplay in Blackpool on the opening night.
Van Gerwen was beaten by the unheralded Jeffrey de Zwaan, a fellow Dutchman ranked 67 places below him in the world, 10-6 in what ranks as one of the tournament’s greatest ever shock defeats.
He started the night as the 1-25 favourite to win but seldom looked himself at the Winter Gardens, losing to De Zwaan for the second time this season following defeat at the UK Open.
“I really don’t believe it, I played really well and the confidence was there,” De Zwaan told Sky Sports.
“I said to myself, ‘keep going, keep pushing’. I just wanted to play my game and see what happens.”
De Zwaan next meets Adrian Lewis, who came from behind to knock out James Wilson.
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