“I never believed I could win against him”: Van Duijvenbode admits he lost before dart was thrown against Van Gerwen

Dirk van Duijvenbode was firmly feeling sorry for himself after the 4-1 defeat against Michael van Gerwen. The belief was missing from 'Aubergenius'.

Van Duijvenbode was bitterly disappointed after his 4-1 defeat against Michael van Gerwen in the fourth round of the World Darts Championship. 'Aubergenius' indicated afterwards that he did not believe in a victory for a single moment.

''I never believed I could win against him,'' Van Duijvenbode responded after his game. ''That's why I'm losing here tonight. In the third leg I actually already knew it wasn't going to work, the right feeling wasn't there. And when it really mattered, I didn't live up to it. I wasn't very good, but I still had chances.''

His disappointing play was also reflected in the statistics. Van Duijvenbode, for instance, threw only six 180-scores, normally his trademark. ''I really didn't think I was going to beat Michael here for a while, but I thought I would be a bit further ahead. That turned out not to be the case. And Michael threw really good finishes as well, everything between 80 and 100 he just hit.''

''Still, he was catchable today, but I didn't go close. I set up a multi-year plan, but I expected to be further along than this already. I've had a good year, but obviously I'm not ready for this yet. I would have really liked to have provided more excitement and spectacle," Van Duijvenbode said.