'I'm very happy' - Michael van Gerwen speaks after winning first UK Open Qualifier in Wigan

Michael van Gerwen came straight from Dublin to Wigan to take part in the first of 6 UK Open Qualifiers ahead of the major next month in Minehead and despite potentially some rustiness or tiredness from the World Number 1, he showed this wasn't the case by smashing through the field to claim the first UK Open Qualifier title of the year.

He did it by defeating Michael Smith in the final and barring that 'Mighty Mike' wasn't really troubled all day on his route to the title. Van Gerwen sees them as good practice and will at the very least enter today's tournament to try and win again after a day he admits came out 'perfectly'.
"It has been a phenomenal day for me," said the Dutchman, who won the 2015 and 2016 UK Opens before missing last year's event due to a back injury.
"My worst game came against [Simon] Stevenson but other than that I played very well and averaged over 100 in every game, so I'm very happy."
MVG won the Masters and his first Premier League game of the season last night and shows no signs of letting up after his World Championship disappointment showing the world that no matter where the dartboard is that he is the man to beat.
"I came to the hotel [from Dublin], had a sleep, and made sure I was focused and rested," he added. "Today it came out perfectly.
"It is nice to win days like this because it gives you a lot of confidence. Plenty of people played well against me today.
"These are very good practice for me, and there are a lot of big tournaments coming up so I need to be ready for them as well."
Click here for the 2018 UK Open Qualifiers Calendar and how the UK Open Qualifiers exactly work.

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