“He suffered yet another hammer blow in his private life” — Van der Voort reveals sad reason behind Van Gerwen’s early exit at the Winmau World Masters

After Michael van Gerwen managed to claim a title and reach a final at the last two World Series events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia last month, there was hope the Dutchman would carry that form into the Winmau World Masters.

However, at the first big major tournament of 2026, the Dutchman crashed out in the first round against Damon Heta and was eliminated immediately. Vincent van der Voort revealed the sad reason behind ‘Mighty Mike’s’ early exit in the latest episode of the Darts Draait Door podcast.

With an average of just 88, Van Gerwen lost 3-1 in the first round to Damon Heta, who himself averaged only 86, bringing his tournament to a premature end. After his strong World Series performances, this defeat came as a surprise. “We certainly didn’t expect this, because he was building well and training,” begins Van der Voort, who then reveals the reason for his disappointing display. “He was hit by a real sledgehammer in his private life. That made it a truly miserable week.”

Van Gerwen’s close friend did not want to go into details. “That’s not for me to share.” He did, however, confirm that ‘MVG’ considered skipping the tournament altogether. “At first he didn’t want to go, but he also knows what we’re working on. So he went anyway, really against his better judgment. You can’t control things like this, so I didn’t find it strange that he lost. You can’t blame him for anything here. When you see what he has to deal with… It’s really no small thing.”

It’s widely known that darts isn’t just about pure talent, but also the mental side. “And if that’s a mess, then it’s really not easy,” concludes Van der Voort. “All of a sudden you get blindsided by external factors. He was up for it again and then he gets knocked back. This time it wasn’t surprising that he wasn’t at his best. But the Tour waits for no one and elite sport is ruthless.”

Despite this setback, Van der Voort hopes Van Gerwen stays aware that this is an important year for the Dutchman if he wants to keep performing at the top of darts. “Sometimes you have to take one on the chin, because this is the year it has to happen. This needs to be turned around quickly, because if this continues he’ll be out of everything next year. Then try coming back.”

This Thursday, the three-time world champion is straight back to work, facing Stephen Bunting in Newcastle on the opening night of the Premier League Darts.

“Everyone gets their share of misery and he’s really getting his, but now you have to man up as well. That’s not easy, but if he still wants something he has to be hard on himself. Only he can do that. I really felt for him last week, while I’m usually pretty strict. It’s good that he’s playing Bunting now, who isn’t exactly brimming with confidence either,” concludes Van der Voort.