Dutch darting legend, Michael van Gerwen wants you to know one thing: don’t count him out. Sure, his season on the ProTour has been about as reliable as a wet lighter, but the three-time world champion is adamant he’s still got one eye on November’s Players Championship Finals in Minehead.
The other eye, you feel, is busy rolling at anyone who dares doubt him. Mighty Mike showed flashes of his old self in Amsterdam, surviving a very Dutch ambush against compatriot Wessel Nijman. At one stage, he trailed 3–1 and looked about as comfortable as a man trying to throw darts with oven mitts.
Then, as if suddenly remembering who he was, MVG turned on the turbo: five 180s, an average of 104.75, and eventually a squeaky 6–5 win. Cue a relieved grin that said: still here, still dangerous, still not ready for the pundits to start writing my career obituary.It hasn’t been a vintage year. He’s skipped events, struggled for rhythm, and generally looked more mortal than monster.
And of course, there’s been the much publised divorce proceedings which is naturally incredibly stressful. But as reported by Oche180, Van Gerwen insists the mountain to Minehead is still climbable:
“Yeah, why not? I think there’s seven or nine left,” he shrugged. “
Yeah, I’ll play a minimum of five. So if I can’t reach it in the next five, I’m useless anyway. Simple as that.”
Seven left Mike … keep count mate! But this is very much a typically blunt speaking MVG. Self-deprecating one moment, casually terrifying the next. He talks like a man who would happily fight his own shadow if it dared to fall out of line.
Against Nijman, the difference, according to Van Gerwen, was less about power scoring and more about, well, being Michael van Gerwen:“Yeah, of course I was delighted. I think his [Nijman] cover shots were absolutely great. Every time, first dart low, then two trebles afterwards.
But I think he was also thinking a little bit too much himself, you know what I mean? He was slowing down a little bit, and then you can see he’s not experienced enough to just do it his own way. I think he’s an absolutely great player, but another win is always nice.”
Translation: Nijman is good, but Van Gerwen has lived this sport long enough to smell fear before it’s even arrived on stage. And while the match did wobble dangerously in the early exchanges, MVG swears he never doubted himself:
“No, because if you think that, you can’t perform like I did afterwards. Of course, in patches I played really well, and in patches I was maybe trying too hard. But I felt great the whole game, and I think that’s what you want. That’s what you want to show, that’s what you want to give the crowd.”
There was a glimmer of old swagger in his grin as he added:
“I think this was one of my best performances in Holland for a long time, and that gives me a lot of joy. All the other Dutch guys don’t even know what pressure is, you know what I mean? They’ve never been there, they’ve not done it. They all think they might be superstars, but they’ve never done it.”
That last line is classic MVG – part pep talk, part public execution. He can’t resist reminding everyone that pressure is a currency he invented, and the younger Dutch hopefuls are still fumbling for loose change. The bigger picture is still a rebuild. Van Gerwen knows it, and he doesn’t hide it:
“I need to do it more on a regular basis and that costs a lot of energy, and that takes some doing. But I feel good, and that’s the only thing that matters.If I feel well, the best men in the world, they’re not going to beat me. But I still have to do it, and when they’re in good form – which he is, because he’s doing well on the Euro Tour and everything – you have to battle hard, you have to dig deep.”
In short: the machine isn’t broken, just recalibrating. The warning has been issued. Ignore it at your peril.
——Ends——
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