Michael van Gerwen will leave PDC Super Series III without a title once more as the ProTour woes of the World Number Three continue.
Van Gerwen reached the Last 16 on Tuesday after previously not making it past the Last 64 in the days prior.
He lost out though to Simon Whitlock who produced a fourth straight defeat against Mighty Mike winning 6-3 in the end.
Prior to his defeat, while not being at his best, he showed signs that he might go on a run with wins over Gary Blades (6-3), Lukas Wenig (6-3) and John Michael (6-1).
But Whitlock went 4-1 up on Van Gerwen and the latter took out his frustrations with his display by smashing in a superb 145 checkout befitting of his celebration following that.
But this didn't derail the Aussie ace who broke back immediately and surged to victory from there to reach the Quarter-Finals 6-3.
It'll be back to the drawing board for The Green Machine after not claiming a title in April for the first time since 2011.