"If I can't reach it in the next five, I'm useless anyway": Michael van Gerwen hasn't given up on Players Championship Finals yet

Michael van Gerwen produced one of his strongest home performances in recent years as he battled past Wessel Nijman at the 2025 World Series of Darts Finals. The Dutchman admitted afterwards that he was “delighted” with how he handled both the challenge of his young opponent and the pressure of playing in front of a home crowd.

Van Gerwen has had a mixed bag as of late with the Dutch juggernaut averaging 112 in his opener in Prague and then averaging 89 the game after. But he is through his opener at the World Series of Darts Finals.

“Yeah, of course I was delighted,” Van Gerwen said to Online Darts. “I think his cover shots were absolutely great. Every time, first dart low, then two trebles afterwards. But I think he was also thinking a little bit too much himself, you know what I mean? He was slowing down a little bit, and then you can see he’s not experienced enough to just do it his own way. I think he’s an absolutely great player, but another win is always nice.”

Van Gerwen found himself trailing 3–1 despite averaging 112, but insisted that he never doubted himself. “No, because if you think that, you can’t perform like I did afterwards,” he explained. “Of course, in patches I played really well, and in patches I was maybe trying too hard. But I felt great the whole game, and I think that’s what you want. That’s what you want to show, that’s what you want to give the crowd. I think this was one of my best performances in Holland for a long time, and that gives me a lot of joy.”

The pressure of playing in front of his home supporters has been a theme throughout Van Gerwen’s career, and he made a pointed remark about how unique that expectation is. “Yeah, all the other Dutch guys don’t even know what pressure is, you know what I mean? They’ve never been there, they’ve not done it. They all think they might be superstars, but they’ve never done it.”

Asked about inconsistency in his form, Van Gerwen dismissed any notion of frustration. “I was so frustrated I could do this today, do you know what I mean? I’m not frustrated at all, otherwise you can’t perform like I did tonight.”

Much has been said about Van Gerwen’s rebuild, with Vincent van der Voort openly discussing the work being put in. The three-time World Champion admitted progress is being made but stressed the importance of doing it regularly. “I hope so, but I need to do it more on a regular basis and that costs a lot of energy, and that takes some doing. But I feel good, and that’s the only thing that matters. If I feel well, the best men in the world, they’re not going to beat me. But I still have to do it, and when they’re in good form — which he is, because he’s doing well on the Euro Tour and everything — you have to battle hard, you have to dig deep.”

Attention soon turned to qualification for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead, with Van Gerwen facing an uphill battle after skipping several Pro Tours this year. Asked whether he had given up on making it, he was blunt in his reply. “You know me better than that.”

With only a handful of events remaining, Van Gerwen insisted it is still within his grasp. “Yeah, why not? I think there’s seven or nine left.” When told there were seven, he added: “Yeah, I’ll play a minimum of five. So if I can’t reach it in the next five, I’m useless anyway. Simple as that.”