"He’s behaving a bit like a twenty-year-old going completely wild"- Van der Voort understands Van Gerwen’s partying despite need to focus on darts highlighted

Michael van Gerwen decided at the start of this week to skip the Players Championship double-header in Wigan. Anyone who thought this was only about preparing for the upcoming Premier League night in Rotterdam turned out to be wrong. The 36-year-old had already celebrated the title of his favorite football club PSV, and on Monday footage surfaced online of him at a party.

During the Rebirth Festival in Haaren, “Mighty Mike” suddenly appeared on stage with popular singer Mart Hoogkamer belting out one of his well known hits at least for those in Holland. Van der Voort, a good friend of Van Gerwen, saw the clips and reacted in the latest episode of the Darts Draait Door podcast. “Now I have to watch what I say, otherwise I’ll have his fan club after me saying it’s fine and the lad should enjoy himself,” he said with a laugh.

He had two tips for him: “I sent him one message after I saw all those videos of him. I told him he was beyond embarrassment and that I had two pieces of advice. One: ‘You should never sing again,’ and two: ‘Never wear that swim cap again,’” he said, referring to a bucket hat he wore in the clip.

“Come on, that’s not on. But he had an absolutely brilliant night. I’m fine with that. You can’t say he doesn’t enjoy a party. He’s there anytime, anywhere.” Van der Voort also thinks the three-time world champion is now making up for what he missed out on in recent years because of his darts career. “Despite going through a tough time, he’s also having the time of his life right now.”

“You shouldn’t forget that from the age of fifteen or sixteen he was only focused on darts,” continued Van der Voort, who has known Van Gerwen since his younger years. “He never went out with his friends, was always thinking about the next tournament and the pressure that came with it. Now he has time to really let off steam, something he hasn’t experienced all that time.”

Still, he adds a caveat. “You have to hope this phase doesn’t last too long. He’s behaving a bit like a twenty-year-old going completely wild. At some point you hope he’ll think that darts is his number one priority. But he’s enjoying himself now, and I can grant him that.”

This Thursday, Van Gerwen, like Gian van Veen, returns to action in the Premier League. In Rotterdam Ahoy, the Dutchmen will battle in front of a home crowd for the nightly title. For both men it will be a special, but also important, evening.

For Van Veen, it will be a special debut: his first appearance in Ahoy, in front of thousands of boisterous Dutch fans. Expectations are high, but can he meet them? “I think it will be a goosebumps moment. But also very difficult,” said Van der Voort.

The difficulty is not only in the opponent — Luke Humphries — but especially in the circumstances. The combination of a debutant, a heaving Ahoy, and the pressure of the moment makes for an explosive cocktail.

“When Van Veen walks onto the stage, a lot will probably already be happening to him,” he noted. “In the first few legs the adrenaline will be pumping through his body. It’s important to try to settle quickly into a match like that.”

The key? Simple, yet so hard to execute: “Get a leg on the board as quickly as possible. So you feel you’re in the match. The longer that takes, the harder it gets.”

Although Van Veen will be the crowd favorite, the tag of favorite still sits with Humphries. “I do think Humphries is playing better at the moment,” Van der Voort stated matter-of-factly. “I saw him recently on the Pro Tours — he’s just playing well. Only at the key moments he falls short.” And that’s where chances may lie for the Dutchman.

Van Gerwen faces a tough opponent in Jonny Clayton, the number 1 in the standings. Where Van Gerwen must, Clayton can. “For him, this is a bonus night. He’s all but assured of the play-offs. He’s throwing more freely.” But that also offers opportunities for MVG. “If he gets past Clayton, he has a good chance to win the night.”

Remarkably, however, Van Gerwen has not had a great record in Ahoy in recent years. “He last won here in 2022,” it was noted. “That’s a while ago.” Even so, Van der Voort ultimately sees his good friend winning. “This is the moment. Then he’ll also take big steps towards the play-offs.”