"Had Rock on the ropes": Michael van Gerwen spurns golden opportunity in frustrating second round World Matchplay exit
PDC
In the latest episode of Sportnieuws.nl’s World Matchplay Draait Door podcast, Vincent van der Voort and Damian Vlottes were joined by special guest Gian van Veen to dissect the standout clash between Michael van Gerwen and Josh Rock at the 2025 World Matchplay. What began as a commanding performance from Van Gerwen ended in a bitter defeat.
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“He really had Rock on the ropes,” Van der Voort said, summing up the sense of opportunity lost.
Van der Voort made no effort to hide his disappointment with Van Gerwen’s collapse. “It was a strange match. He started strong, played well, but at one point he started missing doubles. And that just kept happening,” he said. “You could feel Rock getting better and better as the match went on. Michael gave away far too many legs. He really didn’t need to lose this.”
Van Veen echoed the sentiment: “He started really well—better than I expected, even. But yes, afterwards it’s just frustrating that he still manages to lose a match like that.”
Van der Voort’s analysis was scathing: “Rock came on stage full of confidence. Everyone said he was going to win it, so if you want to stop him, you’ve got to kill it off early. And Michael did—at the start. Rock was getting irritated, he even threw away a few darts in frustration.”
The doubles let Van Gerwen down in his match against Josh Rock
But it all unraveled on the doubles. “He missed two darts at 73 when it was 10-6. Before that, he’d missed three at tops, then three more at double 8. Tops just wasn’t working at all today,” Van der Voort explained. “If you don’t take your chances, a guy like Rock is going to grow into the match—and that’s exactly what happened.”
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Despite Van Gerwen’s failings on the outer ring, Rock's performance didn’t go unnoticed. “That 152 finish was the turning point,” Van Veen said. “Before that, it felt a bit flat. He was running across the stage, but it lacked spark. After that finish, though, the rhythm came. More 180s, more energy. From that moment on, he was level with Van Gerwen—maybe even better.”
Yet Van Gerwen still showed flashes of brilliance. His 138 checkout to level at 10-10 drew high praise. “That 138 finish was world class,” said Van Veen. “That’s when you see he’s still one of the very best. Rock was on 90 for the match and Michael takes out 138 via double 9. That’s just quality.”
After the match, Van der Voort spoke briefly with the three-time World Champion. “He was really down,” Van der Voort revealed. “He said, ‘I’m hurting myself so much with this. This really wasn’t necessary.’ He knows he gave away at least five legs. Of course, sometimes you nick one from your opponent, but you forget those quickly. The ones that stick are when you miss three darts—and that keeps gnawing at you.”
Van Veen agreed with that assessment. “He was 100% the better player today. It was 6-4 after ten legs, but it could just as easily have been 7-3 or even 8-2. That’s where it all went wrong.”
Despite the frustration, there were positives. “The encouraging thing is you can see it really affected him,” said Van der Voort. “He gave everything today. That shows how badly he still wants to win. Now he needs to take a holiday, get some rest, then train hard again. If he puts in the time and effort, he’ll be back.”
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Van Duijvenbode Falls Short as Gilding Shines
Elsewhere, Dirk van Duijvenbode couldn’t overcome a red-hot Andrew Gilding. “We expected Dirk to be the favourite, but Gilding was in top form,” Van der Voort said. Van Veen added: “I didn’t see that coming at all. Gilding was already strong against Heta in the first round. His scoring especially was very sharp.”
“Dirk started okay,” Van der Voort continued, “but the longer the match went on, the more he struggled.” Van Veen noted: “At one point he even started glancing left, clearly distracted.” Vlottes chimed in: “He tried to fire himself up with a few finishes—like he did against Cross—but it just didn’t work this time.”
Van der Voort added some personal insight into Van Duijvenbode’s circumstances: “The important thing is he didn’t have to pull out due to personal reasons. He’s about to become a father, and that’s way more important than this tournament.”
Van Veen joked, “Let’s hope he doesn’t have to do too much…” prompting laughter from Van der Voort. "Yeah, now he just needs to sit there, cheer and hum along. I remember my own experience—got completely stiff that night, haha.”
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Wattimena Pushes Littler But Falls Just Short
Jermaine Wattimena also bowed out, despite a strong performance against Luke Littler. Wattimena led 7-2 at one point, but couldn’t close it out.
“Jermaine started well,” said Van Veen. “Littler wasn’t at his best early on—his scoring was off and the switches weren’t smooth. But then that 62 finish came, and it changed the match. The way he celebrated said, ‘I’m still here,’ and that gave him energy.” Van der Voort added: “Wattimena had the lead, but it got tight. Littler kept coming, and you could see Jermaine getting a bit nervous about the comeback.”
Wattimena gave away a 7-2 lead against Littler
Still, Wattimena’s resilience drew praise. “The great thing is that he didn’t give up,” said Van der Voort. “That’s a big step for him. In the past, he might have thought, ‘This isn’t going to be my match,’ but now he fought to the end.”
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Van Veen agreed: “You have to give him credit for how much he’s developed over the last few months. Even after giving away a 7-2 lead, he kept battling. That says a lot about his mentality.”
“We saw it against Peter Wright too. Jermaine was 7-3 up and it went to 8-8—but he still won. Same thing today. He was well in front, Littler claws back, but Jermaine doesn’t fold. That’s probably the biggest improvement he’s made in the last twelve months.”
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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