“I’m so annoyed” – Michael van Gerwen hits out after frustrating return to Netherlands for Premier League Darts

Michael van Gerwen and Rotterdam Ahoy still haven’t been a happy pairing since the Premier League’s new format was introduced in 2022. For the fourth year running, the Dutchman went out immediately in front of his home crowd, which led to visible frustration on his part.

Ahead of the night, ‘Mighty Mike’ admitted that playing on home soil always brings extra pressure. Results in recent years seem to back that up. Last night it went wrong again in his opening match against Jonny Clayton, to whom he lost comprehensively 6-2.

“I’m absolutely gutted,” Van Gerwen said immediately after his match on Viaplay. At 1-1, the Dutchman missed two darts to move ahead, after which he lost four legs on the spin and found himself in a hopeless spot. “If you create a good chance for yourself there, you have to take it. You have to be critical of yourself that you let it slip against a Clayton in this kind of form. That’s what annoys me.”

Clayton arrived in Rotterdam as number one in the standings and therefore came to the Netherlands full of confidence. Averaging around 125, he quickly surged to 5-1, and after Van Gerwen pulled one leg back, ‘The Ferret’ sealed it in style with a phenomenal 170 checkout. Van Gerwen had prepared for that. “You know you’re up against a Clayton who’s in good nick and in a good flow. You try to break that, and it’s not easy.”

Even though Van Gerwen took a heavy defeat, he certainly didn’t play badly. That made the loss sting even more. “I’m so annoyed, because I feel so good. And then I don’t show what I can do. I think I play an okay match, but I’m so much better than this. Sometimes it just hurts my eyes.”

Still, ‘MVG’ will have to regroup, because despite his early exit he remains virtually in the play-off spots in fourth place. With five league nights left in this Premier League, the Dutchman still has everything to play for. Next Thursday is Night 12 in Liverpool, where Van Gerwen will face the bottom-of-the-table Josh Rock in his opening match.