Vincent van der Voort has delivered a brutally honest assessment of Michael van Gerwen's ongoing slump, declaring that his close friend "doesn't belong in the top 16 right now" following a 6-3 first-round defeat to Kevin Doets at the European Championship in Dortmund. The loss saw the three-time world champion slip to 13th in the world rankings, and Van der Voort believes the problems run far deeper than results alone.
Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast, Van der Voort pinpointed Doets' clinical finishing as the difference in Dortmund. "Doets took out 106 and 132 early on, and that was already where he made the difference. You can see that Michael currently isn't able to turn a match like that around," he said. "Van Gerwen isn't doing anything special, but Doets did, with a brilliant 132 finish. Michael isn't the kind of player who takes out a scrappy finish to hurt his opponent. The legs he wins, he almost always wins on merit. But he isn't nicking any legs."
The former professional insisted the defeat is part of a worrying pattern. "Van Gerwen is struggling against everyone at the moment. He has to find a way to turn things around. Hopefully he can win a few rounds on the ProTour, because losing all the time won't make him any better." He added: "When you look at his numbers over the last ten or twelve tournaments, they're shocking. You think: that isn't him. You can't turn that around overnight. It's going to take a lot of hard work." Van der Voort also noted: "This is the worst year he's had, and it's the year when things were supposed to happen. The year when he was going to play more and achieve more. You keep thinking he's hit rock bottom, but he's still down there. At some point, he has to get back up."
Beyond the numbers, Van der Voort has noticed a change in his friend's demeanour. "I am disappointed by that. You can see that he really wants it, but I think he sometimes lacks hunger and aggression. It all looks a bit flat. You want to see him get genuinely angry during a match. You want to see on his face that he really wants it." He continued: "He really wants it, but you can tell he finds it hard to motivate himself. It seems to have to come from the people around him, rather than from within. That's worrying. He needs to get that hunger back. He should be thinking about it days in advance." Van der Voort also stressed that "a lot is happening in his personal life as well. Things that have been weighing on him for longer than he may want to admit. That's how you end up here."
After his early exit, Van Gerwen dropped from 10th to 13th in the PDC Order of Merit, but Van der Voort believes even that flatters him. "If you're completely honest, he doesn't belong there either. He should be lower. He's my best friend, so I genuinely want what's best for him. But when you look at it, he doesn't belong in the top 16 right now. You have to be honest about that." He added: "There are players below him who are performing better. You shouldn't focus on that. You have to make sure your own level is where it needs to be." The drop could have major consequences, with Van der Voort warning: "You have to seriously consider that now. You might have to play qualifying tournaments or start your Euro Tour campaign on Friday."
On the subject of next year's Premier League Darts, Van der Voort questioned whether Van Gerwen should participate. "For his career, I think the best thing would be to take a year off. Definitely," he said, though he added a caveat: "But only if he really gives it everything. He can't think: no Premier League, so I've got more time off." He expects his friend to play if invited, however: "I don't think he can turn it down commercially, because of sponsor commitments and things like that. I think he'll play in the Premier League."
Van der Voort's advice for turning things around is blunt: "The worst thing you can do now is feel sorry for yourself. Then you start feeling sorry for yourself, and that's the stupidest thing you can do. You have to get angry with yourself. You're out on Friday, so you should be practising on Saturday, Sunday and Monday." He did, however, note: "He didn't, by the way. But if you start feeling that way, you're in an even worse position."
