Michael van Gerwen was unable to bounce back from Premier League disappointment by winning the Dutch Darts Championship as he suffered a semi-final elimination in a tournament won by Josh Rock.
Van Gerwen was beaten 10-5 by Luke Humphries in the Premier League semi-final on Thursday as his hopes of a third successive title in the event and eighth place overall were thwarted.
The 34-year-old reached the last four in his homeland on Sunday following 6-1 demolitions of Chris Dobey and Danny Noppert, but then surrendered leads of 4-0 and 6-4 to lose 7-6 to Jonny Clayton .
Michael van Gerwen was beaten in the semi-final
Rock won the title – his first on the European Tour – after an 8-4 success against Clayton in the final, with the Northern Irishman emotional when he was presented with the trophy in Rosmalen.
Rock: The biggest victory of my career
The 23-year-old, who now rises to 18th in the PDC Order of Merit, said: “This is the biggest win of my career, 100 per cent.
“I said this weekend that I was here to win the tournament. Jonny is one of the nicest men in darts. I love him to pieces, but my name is on the trophy and I’m so happy.
“I have lost in many finals, but I still believe that I will win, and obviously today I proved that I can.
“I always said my next title would be a major title and that is my main goal, but I have proven that I can win on the big stage now.”
Earlier, Rock rallied from 5-3 down to defeat Cameron Menzies 6-5 in the round of 16, then beat Gerwyn Price 7-3 in the quarter-finals, before reeling off six sets in a row to beat Martin Schindler 7 -3 in the semi-finals with a score of 3-1.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Ross Smith scored a sensational nine-dart result in his second round defeat by Dimitri Van den Bergh on Saturday.
Clayton, meanwhile, beat defending champion Dave Chisnall 6-3 in the round of 16, before eliminating Ryan Searle 6-2 in the quarter-finals and then Van Gerwen in the last four.
Watch the Darts World Cup on Sky Sports
Darts are back Aerial sports starting on Thursday June 27 with the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt, in which Van Gerwen and Noppert will team up for the Netherlands, Rock will partner Brendan Dolan for Northern Ireland and Humphries and Michael Smith will play for England.
Wales will once again be represented by reigning champions Price and Clayton, with Peter Wright and Gary Anderson playing for Scotland and William O’Connor and Keane Barry for Ireland.
Dutch Darts Championship – Sunday Results
Final
Josh Rock 8-4 Jonny Clayton
Semi-finals
Jonny Clayton 7-6 Michael van Gerwen
Josh Rock 7-3 Martin Schindler
Quarter-finals
Jonny Clayton 6-2 Ryan Searle
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Danny Noppert
Martin Schindler 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Josh Rock 6-3 Gerwyn Price
last 16
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Dave Chisnall
Ryan Searle 6-1 Jeffrey de Graaf
Danny Noppert 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Chris Dobey
Luke Woodhouse 6-5 Ritchie Edhouse
Martin Schindler 6-4 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Gian van Veen
Josh Rock 6-5 Cameron Menzies
Ad content | Stream Sky Sports NOW
Stream Sky Sports live contract-free with a 1-month or 1-day subscription NOW. Instant access to live action from the Premier League and EFL, plus darts, cricket, tennis, golf and more.
