"If you don't do anything for two weeks now, you're back to square one" - Van der Voort provides Van Gerwen with advice before his holiday

Michael van Gerwen had to face young sensation Luke Littler in the final of the World Darts Championship in London on Friday night. The 17-year-old Englishman took the world title with a convincing 7-3 victory, causing Van Gerwen to miss out on his fourth World Cup title. Friend and colleague Vincent van der Voort has a clear message for the Dutchman after the defeat: taking rest is allowed, but training must, was the motto.

Van der Voort saw how Van Gerwen mainly fell short on the crucial finishes. Especially in the first few sets these misses were deadly, as Littler rushed to a 4-0 lead. Mighty Mike' was unable to make up the deficit. Van Gerwen has another appointment Sunday in Germany, where he will attend a exhibition tournament. Then Van Gerwen and his family will take a plane to Thailand for a well-deserved vacation. According to Van der Voort, it is important for Van Gerwen to continue his practice hours there.

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"He is going on vacation, then also just a dartboard will come to him by sponsor Winmau. If he's wise he's going to play an hour once every two days," Van der Voort stated in the podcast Darts Draait Door. "If you don't do anything for two weeks now, you're back to square one." The 16-time competitor at the PDC World Championship would not find it convenient for Van Gerwen to put the darts away for a few weeks. "Normally you can easily stop for two weeks, but not now. It's rebuilding all over again. It just wasn't good enough before that."

Indeed, second place at the World Darts Championship was the only highlight in a poor autumn for "Mighty Mike. At tournaments such as the European Darts Championship, the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship Finals, he was eliminated early. For the 35-year-old Dutchman, the fact that Van Gerwen has the upward trend now should be the signal to keep practice. "Then you can build to real top form again. I still think we see Michael at 80 percent."

Skipping the vacations to continue training full time is absolutely not an option. ''Get some rest,'' Van der Voort is clear. ''Coming up next is the Premier League, the Pro Tour, the Euro Tours, the UK Open. Before you know it, it will be June and you will be completely broken again. Getting his rest is really good and he's earned it now, only you have to keep up in terms of training."

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