''In 14 hours I'll be under the knife'' - Van Gerwen must return home quickly after losing World Matchplay final

Naturally, Michael van Gerwen was bitterly disappointed with his lost final against Luke Humphries at the World Matchplay. The three-time world champion lost 18-15 to the reigning world champion.

Van Gerwen was outclassed by his English opponent in the beginning of the final, but seemed to be better in the match toward the end. But just like earlier this tournament, the doubles bothered him several times. The most sour misses were the three missed darts to make 17-16 in the final leg. Humphries then hit 100 to take the title.

''I feel pretty okay, but I did sell myself short,'' Van Gerwen said in an initial reaction to Viaplay. ''I started the match lollygagging so I had to come from far, but you know the match is long enough. In the end you also come back, but you let yourself down so incredibly. That hurts me a lot, because this was completely unnecessary. But yes, eventually the ailment of missing doubles came up again and I can blame myself for that,'' said the 35-year-old Dutchman.

When Van Gerwen was allowed to dice in the final leg, whistling sounded from the Blackpool venue. Mighty Mike, however, refused to blame the crowd for his defeat. ''It would be sad if I blamed someone in the hall. That whistle doesn't matter to me. You have to stand up to everything. I made mistakes myself''.''

Van Gerwen does not have much time to grieve. The final was over around 10:30 p.m. Dutch time, and after a short night's sleep, Van Gerwen will have to return to the Netherlands soon. ''In 14 hours I will be under the knife,'' he alludes to a major operation on his teeth. ''Why so soon? Because the doctor has time then. It's part of the job. I've been looking forward to it for a long time and I'm also looking forward to the second half of the season. I think I showed nice things here and did myself a nice service. I can be proud of myself.''