"From the oche to the mainstage" - Michael van Gerwen processes World Matchplay exit at Tomorrowland

Michael van Gerwen got stuck in the second round at the World Matchplay. However, the Dutch top dart player seems to have put his disappointment behind him. Indeed, he was spotted this weekend at the iconic dance festival Tomorrowland in Belgium.

The prestigious tournament in Blackpool, England, which in terms of prize money and status within the PDC is only inferior to the World Championship, is often called the 'summer World Championship'. For 'Mighty Mike' it was over after only two matches this year. After a convincing victory over compatriot and also former world champion Raymond van Barneveld, Van Gerwen had to acknowledge his superiority to Josh Rock in the second round. Van Gerwen eventually lost to the Northern Irishman 13-11 after a particularly exciting match.

The 36-year-old Van Gerwen didn't seem too worried about it. Being eliminated early, he had the space to travel to Belgium, where the two-day dance festival Tomorrowland was in full swing at De Schorre in Boom. On social media, he shared some images from his visit: "From the oche to Tomorrowland," he wrote with three photos on X, in which he poses backstage with former PSV player Theo Lucius and former Dutch national Eljero Elia, among others.

Tomorrowland, organized by We Are One World, annually attracts several tens of thousands of visitors from around the world and was in the news beforehand this year when the main stage completely burned down shortly before the start of the festival. The plan was for that structure to be shipped to Brazil after the event for Tomorrowland Brazil.

For Van Gerwen, his elimination in Blackpool does not mean too big a loss in the world rankings. Because the PDC Order of Merit works with a two-year system, he defended the prize money from his appearance in 2023, when he was also eliminated early (Van Gerwen lost 10-7 to Brendan Dolan in the opening round back then). This year his place in the last sixteen earned him 15,000 pounds - about 17,000 euros - compared to 10,000 pounds in 2023. So that even makes him a small ranking gain.

In addition to Van Gerwen, Wessel Nijman, Danny Noppert, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Jermaine Wattimena also failed to reach the quarter-finals. They also stranded in the second round, earning 15,000 pounds each.

Although Van Gerwen failed to match his 2024 final this year, he already seems to have his sights set ahead again - this time briefly not on the oche, but on the dance floor.