Important months coming up for Van Gerwen: World number one defends half of his prize money

Michael van Gerwen struggles with his form. The world number one's aura of invincibility seems to have eroded and has increasingly shown human traits in recent months.

As the 29-year-old Dutchman said a few times in the past: 'I am not a robot'. Van Gerwen only one one of the last six tournament. The low point was his elimination in the first round of the World Matchplay by Jeffrey de Zwaan.

Defending big lead on world ranking

The two-time world champion has to find his top form quickly, because a few important months are coming up for 'MvG'. In the autumn he has to defend his prize money earned in the period September till December 2016. That will not be an easy task. Because the Dutch ace is defending nearly the half of his total prize money from the . Van Gerwen currently sits on the first place of the PDC Order of Merit with £ 1,693,750. In the autumn of 2016, 'Mighty Mike' won a stunning total of eleven ranking tournaments, including five majors. Over the next four and a half months, an amount of £ 807,000 is at stake, 48 percent of the prize money won over the past two years. Nevertheless, Van Gerwen's number one position is not in danger yet. The gap with Peter Wright is £ 947,000. The difference with number three Rob Cross, who has nothing to defend, is £ 993,750. So even if he loses all his matches in the autumn, Van Gerwen is still on top of the world rankings before the start of the World Darts Championship.