"I had nothing to lose" - Kiwi darting icon recalls incredible comeback win over peak Van Gerwen during 2014 World Series

This past weekend, the 2025 New Zealand Darts Masters took place in Auckland, marking the seventh and final tournament of the 2025 World Series of Darts. The title went to Luke Littler, who defeated Luke Humphries 8-4 in the final.

Not taking part in Auckland was Warren Parry, widely regarded as New Zealand’s greatest-ever darts player. Parry has competed on multiple occasions in the World Series of Darts and has also featured at events including the World Darts Championship and the World Cup of Darts.

The now 61-year-old Parry recently reflected on the 2014 Sydney Darts Masters in the Weekly Dartscast. At that World Series event, he pulled off a remarkable shock by defeating reigning world champion Michael van Gerwen 6-5 in the opening round — having trailed 5-1. The comeback made his achievement all the more extraordinary.

Parry recalled: “Oh no, that was unreal. We had played against Australia early on, and we travelled up to it, the New Zealand team. And on the way up, they'd done the live draw. And we're sitting in the back of the van, and we're listening to the draw, coming up against Michael van Gerwen, and I'm like, oh well, it's going to be a good experience. So I thought, I'll go ahead, nothing to lose.”

He continued: “I didn’t play as well as I could, but he was really hot for a start, and hit those doubles, and all of a sudden he started giving me chances, and I started taking them, and yeah, got the win in the end. When I got one of the legs, they started fist-bumping me, and then they got another one. But when I got to about four, he stopped. Yeah, he pulled the socks up and told me, yeah. It was an 88 finish on the ball, when he missed. And then I had to throw, I was trying to bring it back 5-0, and then I had to throw on the last leg, so yeah. So I still got a shot on it, and made the most of it.”

Parry’s run ended in the second round, where he lost 8-2 to James Wade. The tournament was ultimately won by Phil Taylor, who defeated Stephen Bunting 11-3 in the final.