''I'm sick to death of this of course'' - Michael van Gerwen loses Premier League title to darting prodigy

After two consecutive Premier League titles, Michael van Gerwen lost to reigning world champion Luke Humphries in the semifinals of Premier League Darts on Thursday night.

Humphries ended Van Gerwen's chances of an eighth Premier League title. 'Mighty Mike' led 1-2, but then lost six legs in a row. The win eventually went to 'Cool Hand Luke' 10-5. Humphries, incidentally, would later lose in the final 11-7 to teenage sensation Luke Littler.

''I'm sick to death of this of course,'' Van Gerwen responded the day after his missed Premier League final in conversation with De Telegraaf. A key point in the match was the fourth leg, after Van Gerwen managed to break Humphries in the third.

Van Gerwen hoped to begin his charge from 75 for a 3-1 lead, but with an amazing 132 finish via twice bullseye and double 16, Humphries equalized. It proved to be the catalyst for Humphries, who then quickly distanced himself from the Dutchman. ''Whether that 132 finish did something to me? Yes, then you stand there looking at it and you think: what's going on here? He is in the right momentum, such finishes just fall at the right moments. That is just sour.

Later in the match, Van Gerwen had two chances of his own to take a leg with a similar finish. In the seventh leg he had a chance from 148 to connect to 3-4 and in the 11th leg there was an opportunity to come back to 7-4 with a 128 check-out. In both cases he failed to hit the double.

"That I was unlucky with those big finishes on one dart? Yeah, for sure. He throws out that 132 all of a sudden, which makes you just not get into it nicely, otherwise with a 3-1 lead you get the real confidence. Now it became hard work and I was buckling down and doing a little bit. I just should have brought more. I know that myself. But of course, he also threw a puck game. He threw a great tournament and for me it was a little less."

In the end, there was room for resignation for Van Gerwen, who said he did everything he could to get the maximum result out of it. ''At some point you also have to be able to say to yourself: I did everything I could. Do you understand? I went full for my feelings, only this is kind of the moment you are in then. That takes time and is not turned around in two weeks. You want that very much, only that doesn't always work out,'' Van Gerwen said.