"From that position, I'm not allowed to lose" - Michael van Gerwen grieves after letting 9-5 lead slip in Players Championships Finals

Michael van Gerwen came up short Sunday night in his attempts to win the Players Championship Finals for an eighth time in his career. 'Mighty Mike' was defeated by Luke Humphries.

Van Gerwen seemed to be heading for the title in Minehead. Thanks in part to a nine darter, the 34-year-old Dutchman took a 9-5 lead. However, then Van Gerwen fell silent allowing Humphries to take six legs in a row and win the final 11-9.

''I had my chances,'' Van Gerwen responded realistically afterwards. ''I was 9-5 up and from that position, I'm not allowed to lose; simple as that. I made it incredibly difficult and when you do that against a player in his form, you only can blame yourself."

Nevertheless, Van Gerwen could still muster up compliments for Humphries. ''I had opportunities there but he played well at the end, he never gave up and fair play to him. My level is definitely close to my best, but still you have to do it at the right moments. Today, I thought I was doing that but fair play to Luke. He played well all tournament, he's got the confidence, he's got everything on his side at the moment."