Ryan Murray became the latest outsider to spring a surprise in the PDC Home Tour as he topped a group with Joe Cullen and Jermaine Wattimena on Wednesday night.
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The Scotsman, who was third in the betting ahead of Greece's John Michael at 5/1 to progress to the next round, had moved his dartboard into his bedroom so he could play in peace and quiet away from his three children - and the strategy worked a treat after an agonising start to the evening.
Murray threatened an unlikely comeback from 4-2 down against group favourite Cullen in the opening fixture before losing out in a last-leg decider but bounced back to seal an impressive 5-3 over Michael with a 121 checkout on the bullseye.
By the time Murray stepped up to his bedroom oche for his third and final match, all four players in the group were on two points after Wattimena edged out Cullen 5-4 having suffered an earlier 5-3 defeat to Micheal.
The Edinburgh-based thrower, who is ranked 135th in the world having only earned his maiden PDC Tour Card at Qualifying School in January, was again the underdog like he was against Cullen but on this occasion he silenced the Machine Gun with a resounding 5-1 victory, sealing it with a 117 checkout.
This meant Cullen could only deny him top spot with a whitewash over Michael in the final match of the night, so it wasn't long before he was celebrating once they shared the first two legs of a contest that the Rockstar eventually won 5-3.
Murray's online efforts were of stark contrast to the last time he featured in a streamed PDC match. On that occasion, during a UK Open qualifying event in 2017, he was on the receiving end of two nine-dart finishes in one match from Michael van Gerwen.
- Each night’s action begins at 1930 BST, and will include webcam footage of each player and their dart board, live score graphics and commentary from Dan Dawson. All PDC Home Tour action will be broadcast live on PDCTV for FREE to ALL registered PDCTV users, regardless of whether you have a paid or free membership
PDC Home Tour Darts: Wednesday results and Thursday fixtures
Play begins at 1930 BST each night
Best of nine legs
Click here for Sky Bet odds
GROUP 20 - Wednesday May 6
Note: Jermaine Wattimena replaces Jeffrey de Zwaan, who has withdrawn to undergo minor surgery on his shoulder and will not take part in the event
- Joe Cullen 5-4 Ryan Murray
- Jermaine Wattimena 2-5 John Michael
- Ryan Murray 5-3 John Michael
- Joe Cullen 4-5 Jermaine Wattimena
- Jermaine Wattimena 1-5 Ryan Murray
- John Michael 3-5 Joe Cullen
GROUP STANDINGS
- Ryan Murray P 3 W 2 L 1 Leg Diff +5 Pts 4
- Joe Cullen P 3 W 2 L 1 Leg Diff +2 Pts 4
- John Michael P 3 W 1 L 2 Leg Diff -1 Pts 2
- Jermaine Wattimena P 3 W 1 L 2 Leg Diff -6 Pts 2
GROUP 21 - Thursday May 7
Note: Karel Sedlacek replaces Derk Telnekes, who has withdrawn due to family reasons
- Rob Cross v William Borland
- Dimitri Van den Bergh v Karel Sedlacek
- William Borland v Karel Sedlacek
- Rob Cross v Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Dimitri Van den Bergh v William Borland
- Karel Sedlacek v Rob Cross
CLICK HERE FOR FULL TOURNAMENT RESULTS & FIXTURES
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