Michael van Gerwen is under pressure again in the closing stages of the Premier League Darts. With three nights to go, his position in the play-off spots is wobbling as the chasing pack closes in. In Aberdeen, the Dutchman had a chance to pull away from direct rivals but lost 6-3 to Luke Humphries in the quarterfinals, bringing Humphries and Gian van Veen to within two points of him.
The build-up to the match was anything but calm. On the weekend before, Van Gerwen celebrated King’s Day and was out for several days, during which he was involved in an incident. “That man had clearly had too much to drink and, to me, his anger came out of nowhere. When he seemed to be heading for the exit, he suddenly lashed out,” Van Gerwen told Sportnieuws.nl. He stressed the incident did not reflect the evening as a whole: “It’s a shame these images are being shared without any context. Otherwise it was a calm and convivial evening in which nothing out of the ordinary happened. But well, it is what it is.”
Analyst and former pro Vincent van der Voort criticised Van Gerwen’s display against Humphries on Viaplay. “It just wasn’t good,” he said, citing too many inaccuracies. “Van Gerwen is a generational talent, he has won everything there is to win. But the way he’s going about it right now, it can’t be consistent.” Van der Voort pointed to the impact of Van Gerwen’s current lifestyle: “But to then switch and play at the highest level again is also mentally very difficult. Because you’re in party mode, it’s all fun and games, and then suddenly on Wednesday you have to get on a plane and on Thursday you have to deliver a top performance.”
According to Van der Voort, combining downtime and elite sport is proving unsustainable. “This life he’s living now doesn’t go together. We’ve watched it for four, five months. One week it’s good, the next week it honestly looks like it’s going absolutely nowhere.” His conclusion is clear: “It’s not going to get better if you approach it this way. Anyone who wants to compete at the top has to live for it. If you can’t bring yourself to do that, it’s a tough story.” However, Van der Voort also showed understanding, noting Van Gerwen’s years at the top and last year’s turbulent private life including his divorce from Daphne Govers. “On match day he does everything he needs to do to be good, just not around it,” he said.
With a few nights left, Van Gerwen faces a crucial phase. He reached the play-offs in nine of the previous eleven editions of the Premier League, but now needs to dig in to avoid missing out again.
