"All the key moments I sold myself short" – Van Gerwen hard on himself after painful defeat to Anderson

Michael van Gerwen was unable to win the darts classic against Gary Anderson in his fourth round at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship. The Dutchman lost 4-1 to the Scot and did not spare himself in his analysis. “I’m really gutted about this,” Van Gerwen began candidly in conversation with Viaplay right after the match. “At all the key moments I sold myself short. Then there’s only one person you can blame, and that’s yourself.”

If you look at the numbers, you see a match that was closer than the scoreline suggests. Van Gerwen had long spells where he was at least on par with the Scot, but his level dipped precisely at the crucial moments. “I honestly don’t think I was the worse player,” he stated. “Only he was sharper when it mattered. No mercy. And at this level you get punished for that, hard.”

A recurring issue was the lack of consistent scoring. When Van Gerwen produced a maximum, it was often followed by a visit without a treble. “Too many visits without a treble, exactly that. But ultimately it’s mostly about that one dart at the right time. And today I missed that too often.”

The match did swing briefly when Van Gerwen pulled it back to 2-1 in sets. “Then you think: there’s still something possible,” he said. The momentum seemed to shift, but Anderson struck at that very moment with cold-blooded checkouts. “You also have to be honest and give him credit,” said Van Gerwen. “He takes out 81 or 84 at moments when it hurts. That’s pure class. Tough for me, but I can only blame myself for this defeat, I’m sure of that.”

Missing doubles in particular cost him. “I just missed too many. A lot,” he admitted. “While I actually felt pretty good in that set. Then you see again how important timing is, especially in this kind of match. They’re not long, you have to be on it straight away. And today I left too much out there.”

Finding the right rhythm was also difficult for the Dutchman. Van Gerwen visibly varied his tempo, sometimes faster, then a bit slower. “That’s right,” he said. “If you’re feeling good, everything goes faster and smoother on its own. Everyone knows how that works. Especially at my level, and there aren’t many playing at that level.”

Finally, the Dutchman also looked back at the start of the match. “The first legs weren’t great, but after that I thought it went pretty well. Only then I lost it again a bit. That’s just rubbish. You don’t want to end up in that position. You want to keep someone like Anderson under constant pressure, but I didn’t manage that today,” he concluded.