MICHAEL VAN GERWEN fell victim to a second straight first-round defeat as he was beaten by the world No 71 at the Players Championship.
The Dutchman, the former world champion, was beaten by Welshman Rhys Griffin in Leicester.
In the first of the Leicester double-header, seven-time Players Championship winner Van Gerwen was dumped out in the opening round by a compatriot of his.
He was beaten 6-5 in a thrilling encounter by Maik Kuivenhoven, although he was not the only first-hurdle scalp of the night, with Gerwyn Price beaten 6-4 by Rob Owen.
However, Van Gerwen could not make amends in the next event, falling to a stunning 6-3 defeat to Griffin, averaging just 89.
Griffin averaged 93, sealing the biggest victory of his career with a 14-darter, to condemn MvG to a second straight first-round exit.
Van Gerwen’s early departure from the tournament signals the first time since 2011 that he has not reached the last four of any of the first 12 Players Championship events.
The 47-time PDC major champion has had his rhythm interrupted with a neck niggle that forced him to miss the Premier League Darts event in Berlin last week.
The 35-year-old suffered a freak injury while putting a shirt on that meant that he was absent from the ninth night of Premier League action at the Uber Arena in the German capital, where he was set to face Gerwyn Price in a mouth-watering quarter-final.
Popular figure Stephen Bunting emerged victorious that night, with ‘The Bullet’, the current world No 4, defeating Price in the final, before continuing his excellent form to win the International Darts Open, his first PDC European Tour title.
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Van Gerwen is sat third in the Premier League table, with just a point between him and those breathing down his neck, but a win at night 10 at the AO Arena on April 10 in Manchester would put him back in contention.
Van Gerwen has a chance to redeem himself after his two surprise defeats, when he faces Chris Dobey.
In the other quarter-final ties, Nathan Aspinall takes on Rob Cross, Luke Littler battles Gerwyn Price, and Luke Humphries, the world No 1, is out for revenge on Bunting after the Liverpudlian beat him in the semi-finals in Riesa.
