"I thought it was a bit of an excuse" - Dutch analysts laugh off 'lame excuse' from Michael van Gerwen after Dortmund disappointment

For Michael van Gerwen, the European Championship ended in a big disappointment. The 35-year-old Dutchman was comfortably beaten 10-4 by old rival Gary Anderson in the second round last weekend in Dortmund. Afterwards, Van Gerwen lashed out at the PDC because, according to him, there was a wind blowing across the stage.

That outburst by Van Gerwen, however, has been met with little acclaim in the'by former Dutch Olympic hockey players Ellen Hoog and Naomi van As, who regularly analyse the darts on their podcast 'En Door'. "He lashed out very harshly at the organization after his defeat because there would have been wind," Hoog said. "They had turned on a wind machine." Van As picks up on that: "For his hair! His lush forest." To which Hoog then replies, "Nice turn of that head like that."

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"That, of course, is common," Hoog continued. "But he was quite critical of that. I thought it was a bit of an excuse. I'm curious if he would also lash out if he had won. Whether he would whine about this then, too."

"He said the doors were open," Van As added. "The organization said the doors were closed, but he didn't believe that."

"We go into that arena one time as supporters," laughs Hoog. "Then you also have to dress up like a moron and then we start blowing really loud."

Michael van Gerwen in action

The Olympians also wondered if the wind can have that much influence during a darts match. "I'm kind of curious what the influence is on the dart when it's in the air," said Van As. "It's only such a small piece that you can't measure it either," Hoog adds. "In archery, of course, you have to be able to sense the wind very well. But you can't do that at darts, of course. And everyone is affected by it."

"That opponent we didn't hear about that wind huh," Van As stated. "No, certainly not, he had nothing to say about it."

In the end the victory went to Ritchie Edhouse, who beat Jermaine Wattimena 11-3 in the final. Edhouse can credit 120,000 pounds to his account thanks to his victory, Wattimena 60,000. "Then again I think: have we chosen the wrong sport?" concluded Van As.

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