"I think that fear factor has gone": Glen Durrant admires longevity of Michael van Gerwen but doesn't see return of darting domination
PDC
Glen Durrant has zoned in on the throw of Michael van Gerwen and also the current state of the Dutch juggernaut and while he admires his longevity, he doesn't see a return to the form of old.
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Van Gerwen has been sporadic. He has won a European Tour but apart from that was on a losing streak and flattered to deceive both during Premier League and in particular ProTours. But he is always still there with the odd display that makes fans sit up and notice.
But his throw has been questioned with the pointing down of the dart seeming to be more pronounced. Durrant spoke to Online Darts last month about Van Gerwen and his current plight.
"It's sporadic his form. I think at times he looks a million dollars. Some of his Quarter-Final wins, he's just not backing them up. I just admire his longevity, how he goes from a Premier League to a European Tour. He's done everything. The motivation is still there," said Durrant to Online Darts.
"I don't think he'll ever dominate again, I think as he would often say he's the one to fear. I think that fear factor has gone. His action I'd like him to stand a little bit more upright, I think at his worst he was really having that front elevation. We all evolve and as I learned as someone trying to get back to his old throw is, it's very difficult to do that. When you start messing with your throw and grip, it can start being a psychological issue."
He also was asked about the Taylor-Littler debate which has roared on all season and he said he's obviously going to side with 'The Power' but he'd love MVG to be in that mix.
"I'm a statistician, I wasn't as a darts player and numbers don't lie. Phil was producing some incredible numbers. It's when I wish we could just get the Van Gerwen of 2016, if something was to inspire him to get back to his best it'd be someone like Luke. I think Phil in his day would be a match for what Luke is doing.
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"I think it's just the short space of time that Luke's about. The fact he didn't even practice going into Cardiff and produced the darts that he did is staggering. I'm the biggest Phil Taylor fan so I'm always going to disagree with that."
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