"I never give up, I always keep fighting": Michael van Gerwen defiant after successful World Series double header despite Littler final loss

Michael van Gerwen can take a lot of solace from his week in the Middle East which has seen the three-time World Champion win a title and reach a final which has seen him also take the lead in the World Series Order of Merit.

Van Gerwen was convincingly beaten at the PDC World Darts Championship just last month against Gary Anderson 4-1 amid also stories littering the press surrounding an interview given by his ex-wife and her new partner.

While MVG did not address this, it is often defeats like the ones to Anderson and unwanted noise that lead to MVG being defiant and coming back with a bang and he did just that during this double header.

While the proof will be more in the pudding during the Winmau World Masters or the Premier League for instance, Van Gerwen has shown that he is still a player to be feared despite losing in the final to Luke Littler 8-5 in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. He did win in Bahrain though last week after being crowned champion on the World Series last year in Amsterdam, a bright point in a dismal year.

“I think Luke played absolutely incredible darts tonight,” said Van Gerwen post match on stage after losing out in the final to The Nuke in Saudi Arabia.

But while he praised Littler, he remained defiant about his own form. Not the force that he was when he was at the peak of his powers, Van Gerwen has to silence a lot of doubters when his form goes up and down but his message was clear: I'm still here and I'm still fighting.

Van Gerwen despite not winning his record extending 18th World Series of Darts title insisted there were still positives to take and he showed his form by coming through a war of attrition of sorts with Stephen Bunting 6-4. Before then returning towards his best to sink Nathan Aspinall for a final spot where he produced some superb darts averaging over a ton.

“Being 4-0 down did not help me, but after that I managed to find my own game and own pace, but fair play to Luke, he had a fantastic tournament.

“I’m still there. I never give up, I always keep fighting, and I think for my first time here, I can’t really complain.”

Going into yet another new year and Van Gerwen is still a player to be feared and whether World Series of Darts count in the psyche of the conversation for titles going forward and even own player motivation remains to be seen but for MVG, it is perhaps the start to a new season he needed to reset and recharge the turbo.