Michael van Gerwen hopes to qualify for the final round of the Premier League on the very last chance on Thursday evening. But that chance does not seem great given the form crisis of the three-time world champion. “Sometimes the pieces of the puzzle don’t fall into place.”
Van Gerwen knows what he has to do in Sheffield on Thursday evening. Winning three matches means a play-off ticket. Losing means exit. “There’s nothing in between. That’s nice sometimes,” Van Gerwen says on Wednesday during an online press moment from the players’ hotel.
In his prime, Van Gerwen would not have been able to see the positive in his precarious situation. But ahead of the crucial Premier League round, the player from Vlijmen is in a different mindset.
It is a small wonder that he still has a chance to reach the final round in London (next Thursday). Van Gerwen has not won a single Premier League round this year and is in a disappointing fifth place, four points behind number four Nathan Aspinall.
Only a place in the top four will prevent Van Gerwen from missing the play-offs for the first time since 2020. “I’ve let it slip too often. Then you end up in such a position. I only deserve it if I win this round,” says Van Gerwen.
The sixteenth and final regular round of the Premier League Darts starts on Thursday evening at 8:00 PM. Michael van Gerwen starts the evening with a match against his competitor Nathan Aspinall.
Few things indicate that that will succeed. After a tough year with poor results, the place in the World Cup final – in which Luke Littler was too strong – seemed to be a turning point for Van Gerwen last January. But it has only gotten worse since then.
From an early elimination at the UK Open to a painful exit in the first round during the Premier League evening in Ahoy; Van Gerwen lost a lot this year and often even with averages that were unworthy of a three-time world champion.
What is the reason? Van Gerwen shakes his head questioningly. “It is difficult to find a cause with such a busy schedule,” he says. “There is hardly any time to think about or adjust things.”
Van Gerwen disputes that he lacks the hunger to perform, as his best friend (and former dart player) Vincent van der Voort recently stated in the podcast Darts runs on. “If only it were a lack of hunger. Then I would have turned it around so quickly.”
Van der Voort also said that his friend should train more. ‘Mighty Mike’ disagrees with that too. “Vincent knows better than anyone how difficult that is when you have a full schedule. Okay, maybe I should have approached it differently this year. But I don’t think that training is going to change everything. People just say things.”
Van Gerwen compares his situation to that of his favorite football club PSV. The Eindhoven team was the master of the Eredivisie season for a long time, but suddenly collapsed completely and could not turn the tide for a long time.
“PSV’s dip was also inexplicable, wasn’t it?” says Van Gerwen. “And look in England, at for example Manchester City. They won everything for years, but have totally collapsed this season. Nobody understands that either.”
“Sometimes it is difficult to find an explanation. It is a combination of factors. Of rest and training, of nutrition and of sleep. Sometimes the pieces of the puzzle do not fall into place. Darts is also a sport of minimal margins.”
The line between good and bad is thin, says Van Gerwen. “I recently played one of my worst matches ever in Ahoy. The weekend after, I threw above 100 average in five matches during a tournament in Munich and took home the cup. You tell me how that is possible.”
Yet Van Gerwen is self-critical. He blames himself for sometimes feeling too little motivation for the Premier League. “Maybe I started it with the wrong attitude.” After a short silence: “It is also because the set-up of the Premier League really annoys me.”
In the old format, players played one match an evening and met each other in a regular competition. Since 2022, mini-tournaments have been played every evening in the Premier League. Players can therefore meet each other weekly.
“In the past, you could look forward to Van Gerwen against Phil Taylor for weeks. You now see those kinds of matches every week. It has become too normal for the public. And maybe for me too, which is why I am sometimes less sharp.”
Yet Van Gerwen is bursting with motivation to reach the final round on Thursday evening. He estimates the chance of that happening at “20 to 25 percent”. “I know what I have in me. If that comes out, I can do it here. If not, I don’t deserve it either and I’ll go home with my tail between my legs.”