"He wants to be the best son-in-law" - Michael van Gerwen pokes fun at Luke Humphries during livestream

Michael van Gerwen offered an extensive livestream an insight into his life inside and outside darts. The three-time world champion answered questions from his followers while throwing plenty of darts at the board.

'Mighty Mike' spoke about his current form, the Swiss Darts Trophy, Luke Humphries, his first nine-darter and a possible book after his career. There was also plenty of room for jokes with friends who were present during the broadcast.

It quickly became clear that this was a relaxed broadcast. Van Gerwen's children briefly appeared before going to bed, while the Dutchman also revealed that he had played padel for an hour and a half the previous day. It did not appear to be his greatest talent. Asked whether he had won, Van Gerwen replied without hesitation: "No, I'm the worst. This is normal." He was still feeling the effects a day later. "The biggest muscle pain you can imagine."

Between answering questions, Van Gerwen continued practising. He worked on his doubles and various finishes, but was far from impressed with everything he produced. "I'm useless in a lot of stuff, but I got two, three things I'm quite good in," he joked after one attempt at a finish did not go to plan.

Van Gerwen became more serious when discussing his next appearance. This weekend, the Swiss Darts Trophy awaits in Basel. The Dutchman made it clear that he is not travelling to Switzerland merely to make up the numbers.

"Of course, I'm not going to Switzerland to just be part of the tournament," said Van Gerwen. "I want to, of course, want to win there. I want to win. That's for me the most important thing. Of course, I need to make sure I start performing."

The tournament came up again later in the livestream. Van Gerwen said he was looking forward to his trip to Basel and revealed that it had been a long time since he last played in Switzerland.

One viewer wanted to know who Van Gerwen currently considers his biggest rival. The Dutchman gave an eye-catching answer while explicitly referring to his own form. "At the moment, I've got 128 rivals," he said. "When you're not playing your best, anything is tough. But you need to make sure you keep practising and keep putting time in yourself."

Van Gerwen was critical of himself. He knows his level needs to improve if he is to regularly challenge for titles again and made it clear several times during the broadcast that winning remains his primary motivation.

The World Grand Prix naturally came up as well. Van Gerwen was not involved in the final himself, in which Luke Humphries came from behind to defeat Gerwyn Price. Asked whether he had watched the final, Van Gerwen first had to think about what he had actually been doing that Sunday. "The final? Which final? The Grand Prix? Yeah. The Grand Prix. Humphries won it. What was I doing Sunday? Ah, the barbecue Sunday."

Later, Van Gerwen even decided to call the newly-crowned champion during his livestream. He introduced Humphries with plenty of teasing as "the champion of the Grand Prix" and invited him to join him for a livestream at a later date.

"Yeah, we have some food and we go live and do a bit of banter," Van Gerwen suggested. Humphries eventually agreed to come over. "Luke is coming on the live stream. He promised me now," Van Gerwen then told his viewers.

Humphries later appeared in the chat as well. Van Gerwen could not resist another dig. "Luke Humphries is not the nicest guy in darts. He pretends to be the nicest. He wants to be the best son-in-law," he joked, before immediately adding more seriously: "No, he's a great guy."

Van Gerwen's career also came up during the many questions from viewers. He was asked when he had thrown his first nine-darter, prompting a story from his younger years.

"My first ever nine-dart was with Bob Anderson darts," Van Gerwen recalled. He remembered trying the darts of Dutch youth player Jeroen Verhoeven at the time. "And I said, let me try your darts. And I had a nine-dart. And it was Bob Anderson darts."

His favourite finish is equally clear. Van Gerwen was asked the question several times during the broadcast and eventually said that 132 is his favourite combination. "How many times do they ask the same questions? I've had the question 20 times," he joked.

Van Gerwen also needed little time to name his favourite referee. "He's not working anymore. It's George Noble," he answered.

Another interesting moment came when Van Gerwen was asked who he considers the second-best Dutch darts player of all time. There was naturally no doubt in his mind over the number one.

"Raymond van Barneveld," Van Gerwen answered when asked for number two. "Because the first one, it's me." When someone else in the room checked whether the question was indeed about the greatest Dutch players of all time, Van Gerwen stood by his answer.

The rivalry between Van Gerwen and Van Barneveld has played an important role in Dutch darts for many years. In Van Gerwen's eyes, at least, the order between the pair based on their achievements is clear.

Away from the dartboard, Van Gerwen also spoke at length about his life outside the sport. He revealed that he still plays poker occasionally, although he does not have much time for it. "Once in a while, every few weeks. I don't have too much time. I've got the kids mostly during the week. Now they are mine as well. So I have to look after them."

His drinking preferences also came up. Beer is certainly not for Van Gerwen. "I've never drank beer in my life. You need to understand one thing. Beer is not my thing." When he does drink alcohol, he prefers something different. "If I drink, I like champagne or rosé or wine. I'm not a massive drinker."

One viewer then asked Van Gerwen whether he had ever considered writing a book. It is an idea the Dutchman can see himself pursuing, but not while his playing career is still ongoing. "I think when I finish," he replied. "To write a book now, my book will be this thick. Serious. I've got some great stories."

Van Gerwen also used the livestream to offer an early look ahead to new darts which will soon be released. He was unable to say or show too much, but did reveal some details.

According to Van Gerwen, four new sets will initially be released before a fifth follows in December. During the livestream, he revealed that filming around the new products had already taken place earlier that day.

He was particularly enthusiastic about one of the sets. "This dart costs one hour on the machine to make. One dart. It's insane. I don't think there is another complex dart like this. It takes one hour to make one dart. Insane. The grip, if you see it, you understand it."

Van Gerwen also said he plans to show more of his new range during a future livestream. "There's four new sets of darts coming out and all kind of stuff. I'm really excited for that, guys."

Towards the end of the broadcast, Dutch YouTuber Enzo Knol provided another amusing moment. Van Gerwen heard that Knol was live at the same time and wanted to know how many people were watching. When he was told that Knol was playing Minecraft and attracting tens of thousands of viewers on YouTube, his reaction was one of disbelief.

"33,000? What the fuck is this? Seriously? What the fuck?" Van Gerwen exclaimed. He then explained that his six-year-old son also plays the game and admitted he had not realised Minecraft was so popular with adults.

He had nothing but good things to say about Knol himself. "He's a very famous guy. He's a good guy as well. He comes and watches the darts all the time." Van Gerwen later added: "Enzo is definitely a lovely guy."

Eventually, the focus returned to where it usually does for Van Gerwen: the dartboard. He refused to end the livestream until he had hit three 180s. "What if three takes an hour? It takes an hour. I don't care. We need to make it a bit of fun."