“He was really very ill after Zandvoort. It wasn’t normal” – Mystery behind Michael van Gerwen’s poor week clarified
PDCWednesday, 02 September 2026 at 13:00
Michael van Gerwen endured another lean week on the oche, but Vincent van der Voort believes the results paint a misleading picture. The three-time world champion battled significant health issues and even turned up to a Players Championship with a fever.
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Van Gerwen played two Players Championships in England last week, then travelled on to Budapest for the Hungarian Darts Trophy. That run of events brought little prize money. He exited once in the opening round and reached only the third round at the other Players Championship. In Hungary, his campaign also ended at the last 16.
This phase of the season is exactly when Van Gerwen could use strong results. With the Worlds in December approaching, the Dutchman still has steps to take to shore up his ranking. His disappointing week therefore came at a particularly bad time.
According to close friend Vincent van der Voort, there was a clear reason this time for Van Gerwen’s subdued displays. The former professional saw first-hand how unwell his compatriot was after visiting the Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Zandvoort.
“It wasn’t great all week, that’s right. I’m always very strict, hard and direct with and about him, but this week there wasn’t a lot he could do. He was really very ill. He came back from Zandvoort and it was unreal. Coughing, honestly unreal. On the Tuesday he shouldn’t even have played, because he had a fever.”
Barely any energy
Despite the physical issues, Van Gerwen still chose to step up to the oche. At the first event it went wrong straightaway against Nick Kenny. A day later he tried again, but it was clear the Brabant thrower was still far from fit.
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“All of that was with a huge effort and little energy. As the week went on he did start to feel better, only you’re not immediately recovered from those previous days. You’re already out of form, tired, behind on practice and then… it’s very hard work for him. He felt that himself too.”
The illness also struck at a time when Van Gerwen was already searching for top gear. For years he was almost by default among the absolute elite, but nowadays he has to work harder to hit the same level.
Van der Voort sees several factors compounding. “You feel very rough, you’ve got little energy, your confidence is much lower than before and then, all told, it’s very hard work to produce anything of a level.”
Van der Voort still sees enough upside
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Even so, Van der Voort sees no reason to write Van Gerwen off. At the Hungarian Darts Trophy the Dutchman, despite a troubled build-up, still had chances to beat Nathan Aspinall. That strengthens Van der Voort’s belief that Van Gerwen remains a danger to his rivals.
“They all still find it difficult to play Michael. It’s definitely still in there. There needs to be a lot more practice and he’s going to do that. Then we need to see him get better week by week.”
A crucial stretch now begins for Van Gerwen. With the autumn and ultimately the Worlds on the horizon, he must not only fully recover, but also build practice hours and match sharpness. The past week yielded little of what he wanted, but according to Van der Voort there was, at least this time, a clear physical explanation.
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- I'd happily pay for a site free of Van der Voort's every squeak and utterance.StraightArrowNoBull19-08-2026
- I think you miss the point. It is just a poll if you are willing to pay for an ad-free site. The content stays free.SheGotLegs16-08-2026
- It's great to see Mark Webster looking well,he's a top ladrick6715-08-2026
- I'm sick of everything wanting paying for ad free stuff,every site you go on,it's pay pay for no ads. I mostly dread picking my phone up,as it's subscription required. I'm not surprised I'm bloody skint. Everyone wants to rob you for services that were freerick6714-08-2026
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