“If my shoes determine how well I play, I’ll quit darts tomorrow” — Michael van Gerwen survives scare in 2026 World Darts Championship opening round

Michael van Gerwen spoke to the press visibly relieved after his opening match at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship . It wasn’t a display that thrilled him, but the result was on the board. And in a tournament where every misstep can be fatal, only one thing matters in the end: winning. Still, this match cost him, by his own admission, more blood, sweat and tears than hoped. “It could all have been much easier and better,” he admitted honestly.

He started sluggishly and lost the first set right away. “Then you’re immediately chasing the game,” he acknowledged. “At a moment like that I’m mainly angry with myself. Then I’m really completely done with myself for a bit.” Yet Van Gerwen, now at his nineteenth World Championship appearance, managed to regroup. Experience played a key role. “I’ve been through this so many times. You learn when to stand your ground and when it just isn’t flowing. You’ve got to stay calm and keep playing your own game. That’s easy to say, but you’ve got to actually do it.”

What made the match extra tricky was his Japanese opponent’s play. Van Gerwen readily admitted he was surprised. “If you look at his treble and double percentages, he was playing at world-class level. His earlier matches were already good, but I honestly didn’t expect this. I saw him warming up and didn’t think he would reach this level.”

Van Gerwen also pointed the finger at himself. “It doesn’t help if I’m not throwing well either. What’s the reason? No idea. Sometimes it just happens.” According to ‘Mighty Mike’, the World Championship first round is always treacherous. “It’s hectic, everyone’s watching, everyone has an opinion. Everyone knows where you stand when you’re up on that stage. You have to show it every single time.”

The pressure was greater than usual this time, Van Gerwen admitted. Not just on the oche, but mentally too. The past year was turbulent, both on and off the stage. “Everyone knows I’ve had a tough year, privately as well. You carry that with you, whether you want to or not.” Finding calm was anything but a given. “You try to get yourself into a calm state, but that’s not always easy. Nothing changes overnight.”

Van Gerwen spoke candidly about his situation. “If you look at my performances last year, they were just below par. And privately it wasn’t going well either. Then you have to try to put everything aside for a moment and create calm. But I’ve got two kids as well. You want everything to stay as calm as possible.”

Still, he feels he’s slowly heading in the right direction again. “I feel calmer again, yes. But everything takes time. That’s part of it.”

What does this hard-fought win say about the rest of the tournament? According to Van Gerwen: absolutely nothing. “The most important thing is to win. In the past I’ve often played an average first round and then gone far. You have to keep believing in your own ability. I know what I can do, I know where I stand. I’m going to show that in the next match.”

That belief remains undiminished, despite some labelling him an outsider beforehand. “I heard that before the tournament. I don’t care. I’ve been around long enough to know how people think. I’ll just keep doing my own thing.”

The crowd support for his opponent was striking. Van Gerwen wasn’t surprised. “It doesn’t often happen that my opponent has the crowd behind him, but this had everything to do with people not wanting to go home. We had a Japanese player and a Kenyan here today, they got the crowd onside.”

Van Gerwen believes it comes with the territory. “If you know that’s how it is, you have to learn to deal with it. I’ve been doing this for nineteen years. Do you think I’ve never had a hostile crowd? That’s what separates the big boys from the rest.”

Beyond darts, the conversation also touched on his personal development. Van Gerwen said he is more mindful of his body and health. “Eating less, eating healthier, exercising more,” he listed. “At a certain point you decide you need more time for yourself. You lose weight, you get compliments, you feel better. You grow into it.”

The interview also took a lighter turn when Van Gerwen was asked about his shoes. Special darts shoes are on the rise, but Van Gerwen wasn’t keen. “I just wear black shoes. Old shoes. They just have to fit well. I call them work shoes.”

When it was suggested that special shoes could improve his game, he responded sharply: “If my shoes determine how well I’m going to throw, I’ll quit darts tomorrow.” A remark that typifies his no-nonsense view of the game.

Van Gerwen will keep it simple in the coming days. “I’m focusing on my next match. Nothing more.” Whether he’ll head back to Vlijmen in between or visit charities is something he’ll decide later. “I’m in the middle of the Worlds. That has priority now.”