Can Whitlock deliver on his promise at the 21st time of asking?

Since then, Whitlock did win the European Championship in 2012 and made the final there twice more.

He also reached the final match at the World Grand Prix, but a new title did not materialise.

After his 7-3 loss in the final against Phil Taylor in 2010, Whitlock reached the semi-finals in 2012 and 2014, but since then he never made it past the fourth round.

In fact, at five of the last nine editions, it went wrong in the second round.

The 54-year-old Whitlock has had a tour card since 2011 and was fourth in the world rankings after his lost final against Taylor. He now has to make do with 43rd place.

If anything, it marks the perseverance of the Aussie, who has also not won a floor tournament since 2017.

The only notable success came last year, when he won the World Cup of Darts with compatriot Damon Heta.

Promise

This year, he failed to qualify for four of the seven major ranking tournaments and went out in the first round at the Players Championship Finals. Can Whitlock ever fulfil his promise again, or did we witness his absolute peak around 12 years ago?

Whitlock plays his first-round match at the PDC World Cup on Friday night against Filipino Paolo Nebrida.