"A guy like that wants to respond, maybe because he thinks he’s important" - Van der Voort responds to Brooks' sneer

Former PDC star Vincent van der Voort has addressed the recent uproar surrounding his remarks about Gerwyn Price’s weight loss in the latest episode of his podcast Darts Draait Door. The Dutchman clarified that his comments were intended humorously and believes the reaction in the UK media was “hugely exaggerated.”

“Price wasn’t angry at all,” Van der Voort told presenter Damian Vlottes. “He replied on Instagram saying he feels fitter than ever. And honestly, when I saw the photos, he just looked healthier too. We were joking about it here, but in England it was suddenly written as if we’d said he was ill.”

The controversy began when Van der Voort quipped on the podcast that Price “would soon be beaten up by Bradley Brooks” if he lost any more weight. The remark appeared to irritate Brooks, who fired back on social media, saying Van der Voort “should stick to commentary, because he’s better at that than darts.”

Van der Voort, however, remains unfazed by the backlash. “That sort of thing doesn’t bother me,” he said. “A guy like that wants to respond, maybe because he thinks he’s important. But honestly, I couldn’t care less what Bradley Brooks thinks of me.”

The former top darter also insisted his comments had been misunderstood. “It was just a joke,” he said. “If he feels his honour has been hurt, that’s up to him. I never said Price was playing worse darts. On the contrary, he looks fitter and healthier. We just said he’d lost enough weight—nothing more.”

Van der Voort revealed he even received messages from fans after the incident. “Someone messaged me saying, ‘You’ve lost to him seven out of nine times, so you can’t say anything.’ But that’s nonsense. You don’t have to tell me he’s better than me—it wasn’t about that at all.”

According to Van der Voort, there’s no bad blood between him and the Welshman. “If I see him next time, we’ll probably laugh about it. And if not, that’s fine,” he said. “It was never meant as an attack. I think he knows that too.”

He wrapped up with a tongue-in-cheek comment about the English media’s reaction. “We’re just sitting here chatting casually on a podcast, and suddenly it’s headline news,” Van der Voort said. “Price responded perfectly with that photo showing his fitness—and fair play to him, he looks better than ever.”