Michael van Gerwen was unable to rebound from Premier League disappointment by winning the Dutch Darts Championship as he suffered a semi-final exit at a tournament won by Josh Rock.
Van Gerwen was thumped 10-5 by Luke Humphries in the Premier League semi-finals on Thursday as his hopes of a third straight title in that event and record-extending eighth 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.
Rock took the title – his first on the European Tour – following an 8-4 success against Clayton in the final, with the Northern Irishman emotional as he was presented with the trophy in Rosmalen.
Rock earlier saw off Cameron Menzies 6-5 in the last 16 and Gerwyn Price 7-3 in the quarter-finals, before reeling off six legs in a row to beat Martin Schindler 7-3 in the semi-finals from 3-1 down.
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Ross Smith hit a sensational nine-dart finish during his second-round loss to Dimitri Van den Bergh on Saturday
Clayton, meanwhile, beat defending champion Dave Chisnall 6-3 in the last 16, before dispatching Ryan Searle 6-2 in the quarter-finals and then Van Gerwen in the last four.
Darts is back on Sky Sports from Thursday June 27 with the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt, at which Van Gerwen and Noppert will team up for Netherlands, Humphries and Michael Smith will star for England, Wales will once again be represented by defending champions Price and Clayton, while Rock will feature for Northern Ireland.
Dutch Darts Championship – Sunday’s 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
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