Luke Humphries’ defence of his World Matchplay title has ended on the opening night of the event as the champion was downed 10-8 by Gian van Veen.
The game was tight throughout, but the world number one could not find his brilliant best consistently, finishing with an average of 95.69.
The Dutchman was ahead on that front, 98.45, and crucially was more clinical on the outer ring, where Cool Hand struggled.
Humphries will be very disappointed with checking out at just 29 per cent, while Van Veen was hitting four of every 10 shots at double.
The 23-year-old is one of the most impressive rising stars of the oche, but is yet to have the regular deep runs in major tournaments to really put his stamp on the sport.
That could change now, though, considering this victory as the biggest of his career so far.
‘Of course I’ve done plenty in my career so far but at the moment this feels like the biggest win of my career,’ he told Sky Sports.
‘Finally I hit that winning double and I think this is the biggest win of my career.’
Ever the classy operator, Humphries had nice words for the winner on stage after the game.
Van Veen added: ‘I’m so happy with this win, to beat such a phenomenal player like Luke.
‘He even said to me after the game I hope you have a good run this tournament because you really deserve it. He’s such a great champion, he’s such a great guy. I’m over the moon.’
Van Veen’s first victory on the Winter Gardens stage sets up a clash with Danny Noppert in the last 16 after he thrashed Cameron Menzies 10-2 earlier on Saturday night.
The Scot struggled on debut, at one point busting his score of 178 by chucking a 180, which was a moment he struggled to recover from.
An average of 81.35 was a bit of a disaster, while Noppert was solid enough to pick up a comfortable win.
The first match of the tournament saw James Wade turn in a stunning performance to hammer Joe Cullen 10-3.
In his 20th consecutive year at the World Matchplay, the Machine averaged a brilliant 104.44 to show that he is once again a threat to lift the trophy, which he did in Blackpool in 2007.
