“He was really very ill after Zandvoort. It wasn’t normal” – Mystery behind Michael van Gerwen’s poor week clarified
PDC
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
“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
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026