“I can only blame myself for that”: Van Gerwen laments not being 100% focused against Cross

Michael van Gerwen escaped defeat Sunday night against Rob Cross in his second group match at the Grand Slam of Darts. 'Mighty Mike' prevailed 5-4 after a nervous finale.

Van Gerwen managed to make up a 1-3 deficit against the former world champion. After that succeeded, Van Gerwen survived three more match darts in the ninth leg. Then 'Mighty Mike' struck out for himself.

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''I got away well,'' Van Gerwen acknowledged afterwards at Viaplay. ''But It wasn't good. With an average of 94-95 I just produced a very mediocre match. I managed to win it in the end, though. You don't have to ask how, but in the end you have to get matches like this over the line.''

This disappointing match followed Van Gerwen's excellent start to this tournament. The world number three had convincingly saw off Fallon Sherrock (5-1) in his first match by throwing an average of 101 but also against Cross, he looked frustrated speaking to ‘Voltage’ at the end.

''I think I was pretty comfortable at the beginning. Then there was some shouting at me from the audience. That affected me, but that can only happen when you are not one hundred percent focused. I can only blame myself for that and I shouldn't let myself get crazy.''