Michael van Gerwen crashed out of Players Championship 13 in Rosmalen, Netherlands on Monday, meaning the Dutchman has now suffered four opening-round defeats this year as he continues his struggles on the oche.
The three-time world champion averaged just 85.73 as he suffered a shock 6-4 defeat to Mario Vandenbogaerde, who started the day 69th in the PDC Order of Merit.
Damon Heta emerged victorious as he clinched his first PDC title of 2025 thanks to an 8-6 win over Nathan Aspinall in the final.
The Australian rises to seventh on the PDC Order of Merit as a result, having not lifted silverware for eight months heading into Monday.
Damon Heta celebrates after hitting the second nine-darter at the 2025 World Darts Championship (Kieran Cleeves/PDC)
“I didn’t know when my next win was coming, so I’m really stoked to win today,” said Heta.
“For some reason in darts you sometimes get wins when you’re not playing great and don’t get what you deserve when you are playing well.
“I’ve been working on a few things to do with my darts set-up. I’m looking for those one per cents to take my game to the next level.
“I’m a hard worker, I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing and hopefully turn up at the big events and get my rewards.”
Heta opened with wins over Adam Hunt, Berry van Peer and Andy Baetens before beating Jermaine Wattimena to reach the quarter-final, overcoming Karel Sedlacek and Andrew Gilding to set up his clash with Aspinall.
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Highlights of the Night Seven final clash between Luke Littler and Van Gerwen, where the 18-year-old hit a brilliant nine-darter!
While Van Gerwen was knocked out in the first round, Gerwyn Price was also handed an early exit in the second round.
The Dutchman was forced to withdraw from the Premier League Darts in Berlin after sustaining a bizarre shoulder injury he gave himself when trying on shirts, but he returned to action at the AO Arena in Manchester last Thursday.
Despite defeating Chris Dobey in his opener, he lost 6-2 to the eventual winner of the night, Nathan Aspinall.
Where does the Premier League head next?
The Premier League continues in Rotterdam Ahoy on Thursday, April 17 as Luke Littler takes on Rob Cross, while Stephen Bunting faces Michael van Gerwen. Watch Night 11 of Premier League Darts, in Rotterdam, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports+ from 6pm – stream with NOW.
Sky Sports will once again be the home of the Premier League in 2025, with every night exclusively live along with the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and more! Stream darts and more top sport with NOW
