Michael van Gerwen will not be in the final of the Players Championship finals for only the third time since 2013.
The three-time world champion was thrashed 6-1 by Ian White in the first round on Friday night.
Van Gerwen was dumped out of the Players Championship Finals in the first round[/caption]
In a worrying setback for Mighty Mike, he watched on as his opponent averaged 102.69 and reeled in a 170 checkout on his way to victory.
It is the first time the seven-time winner has been knocked out in the opening round since 2011.
Meanwhile, world number 59 White is into the second round for the first time since 2020.
Diamond did not even qualify for the tournament two years ago when Van Gerwen won his most recent title.
The 54-year-old will now face either Mike De Decker or Richard Veenstra in the last 32 on Saturday.
He will be hoping to take another step to equalling his best performance at Minehead from 2019.
White reached the final four before losing to eventual winner Van Gerwen in the semi-finals.
The Dutchman was not the only former world champion to be eliminated on day one, though.
Gerwyn Price fell to a 6-4 defeat to Thibault Tricole despite a late fightback, whilst Peter Wright was well beaten by Daryl Gurney.
Teenage sensation Luke Littler then whitewashed Rob Cross, dumping out the fourth world champion of the night 6-0.
White nailed a 170 checkout on his way to a 6-1 win over the world number two[/caption]
Van Gerwen’s defeat was his first in round one at the event since 2011[/caption]
The crushing loss for Van Gerwen comes just over three weeks before the PDC World Darts Championship.
He will head to Alexandra Palace as the third seed but has not won the title since 2019.
White will also be in the draw after qualifying through the Pro Tour Order of Merit.
His appearance will be the 13th of his career, with his best run seeing him make the quarter-finals in 2014.
The World Championship gets underway on December 15 and will run until the final on January 3.
