Simon Whitlock may have continued Michael van Gerwen's barren runs in major tournaments with only the UK Open to his name this year but the curse of beating the World Number One also continued.
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Whitlock lost out to Jose de Sousa on Monday night and it is the third time he has gone through the curse. He was also knocked out in the very next round at the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix, where he lost to Gary Anderson and Dirk van Duijvenbode respectively.
The same goes for Jonny Clayton at the Masters, who went out to Nathan Aspinall in the second round. Glen Durrant beat Van Gerwen at the World Series of Darts Finals, before losing to James Wade.
Ian White also became a victim of the Van Gerwen curse as he defeated the world number one in the second round of the European Championship. The Diamond then lost to Devon Petersen, who went on to reach his maiden major semi-final.
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
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