"I give them a nice one. Just travel with me for one year" – Michael van Gerwen makes clear that life as a top darts player isn’t all glamour

Michael van Gerwen was joined by close friend Vincent van der Voort during a new livestream. As the pair threw a few darts together, viewer questions flew in at pace. Van Gerwen spoke about life as a professional, his upcoming appearance at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam, and several colleagues on tour. Van der Voort, meanwhile, made it clear that a comeback as a professional is not on the cards for him.

Van Gerwen has only recently started streaming and, together with Van der Voort, clearly had to adjust to the sheer volume of incoming messages. At the same time, the two tried to play a training game.

“We’re trying to play 121, read the chat and answer everything at the same time. It’s quite difficult, guys,” Van Gerwen noted. He returned to the point a little later. “But to concentrate and read everything is not that easy. But we’ll give it a go.”

Van Gerwen travels to Amsterdam on Wednesday for the World Series of Darts Finals. The Dutchman is defending his title there and was asked during the stream if he would be present this weekend. “I hope so. It’s in Amsterdam,” he joked. “No, I’m travelling there tomorrow.”

Between legs, Van Gerwen and Van der Voort fielded a raft of viewer questions. One fan asked what people don’t know about the life of the three-time world champion.

Van Gerwen didn’t need long to answer. He said the life of a top professional is often portrayed differently from the outside than it really is. “They all think they want to have my life. I give them a nice one. Just travel with me for one year.”

The question of who his best friend on tour is also came up. The answer seemed obvious, with Van der Voort standing next to him. “He’s not on tour anymore,” Van Gerwen replied. Asked who his best friend on stage is, he opted for a very different answer. “Probably the referee.”

Van der Voort stepped away as a Tour Card holder at the start of 2025 and now has other roles in darts. He has no interest in returning as a pro. “No, no, absolutely not,” he made clear. Van Gerwen understands that decision. “Vincent does so much other work now. It’s like you have to choose again because you can’t combine it.” Van der Voort immediately added: “And I don’t want to.”

Van Gerwen could already picture what it would be like if his close friend sat next to him again at the Players Championships. “Could you imagine sitting at the table at the Pro Tours with me again? My god.” Van Gerwen felt their jokes would not be appreciated by everyone. “Taking the mickey out of all the other players. The rest won’t like it. No, no, no. They hate it when we’re at the table. No one has the balls to sit with us."

Several other players were discussed. When Cameron Menzies’ name came up, Van Gerwen had warm words for the Scot. “Well, I think Cameron is a fantastic guy. Very funny, but can be a lunatic sometimes. I’ve known him for a long time. We played youth together.”

Van der Voort fully agreed and shared a few Menzies anecdotes. “Cameron is a good lad. Absolutely. So funny. He had so many things. Standing at the wrong venue. Standing at the wrong stage.” Van Gerwen added another example with a laugh: “Falling asleep in the toilet. In the portaloo.”

Kim Huybrechts was also discussed. Van Gerwen has known the Belgian since their youth and even remembered their first meeting. “Kim, yeah. Kim’s fine. I’ve known Kim for a long time. The first time I played him, I was 13 years old. And I beat him. Primus Masters.” Van Gerwen stopped short of calling Huybrechts a close friend. “Friends is a big word. But we know each other very well.”

An old youth match with Jerry Hendriks then came up. Van Gerwen lost 5-0 to his compatriot at the time. “Jerry Hendriks. Yes, 5-0. I lost to him in a youth final. Unbelievable.” Van der Voort also remembered Hendriks as a strong player. “Jerry Hendriks was a very good player.”

A viewer also wanted to know how Van Gerwen views the current situation of Dimitri Van den Bergh. The Belgian is going through a tricky spell, but Van Gerwen rejected the idea that Van den Bergh is finished. “I don’t think so. He’s a good player.”

Van Gerwen elaborated more on Cameron Menzies, while a question about a possible guest on a future livestream also popped up. When asked whether Niels would ever be invited, Van Gerwen replied with a wink.

“Yes, as long as he’s not boring. We don’t like boring people.” He softened it straight away: “Niels is alright.” Knossi is also expected to join one of Van Gerwen’s streams in due course. According to the Dutchman, contact has already been made. “Yes, of course. He rang me the day after as well. He’s definitely coming on my stream, but we need to find a date.”

While the stream largely revolved around jokes and answering questions, there was real practice going on. Van Gerwen and Van der Voort played 121 and occasionally discussed the throw.

For Van Gerwen, a key element is the dart’s release. “The release. The release is so good. You let everything go.” Van der Voort replied: “You’re getting nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

Van Gerwen then explained how quickly a throw can start to feel forced. “If you push your dart too hard, it’s annoying. But it’s always easy when things go your way.” Van der Voort recognised the feeling. “That’s the most easy time, eh? When it goes... When you’re aiming for something, you hit it all the time.”

The topic tied in with the phase Van Gerwen is in as he works to get his game back to the desired level. The livestream, however, stayed mostly light. The two Dutchmen tried to combine the practice game with a flood of questions and repeatedly discovered that the mix wasn’t ideal. “We look like amateurs,” joked Van Gerwen when they had to restart the game again.

Van der Voort’s podcast also came up during the stream. Van Gerwen made it clear he wants to join before the end of the year.

“I’ll be on that podcast before the end of the year, right?” Van der Voort even had a possible slot in mind: “Hopefully the one right before the World Championship.”