"It hurts an awful lot, the disappointment is huge" - New blow for Michael van Gerwen raises concern
PDC
Michael van Gerwen is enduring a difficult season and the impact is becoming increasingly visible on the world rankings. The Dutchman went out immediately at the World Grand Prix against Ryan Joyce, squandering another chance to make up ground. According to Vincent van der Voort, the defeat hit his close friend particularly hard.
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Van Gerwen had no prize money to defend in Leicester and could therefore have made significant gains on the PDC Order of Merit. Instead, his tournament ended in the first round for the third year running.
Van der Voort spoke to Van Gerwen after his exit and sensed how much the loss hurt him. “It hurts an awful lot, we’ve talked about it a lot. The disappointment is huge,” Van der Voort said on the podcast Darts Draait Door.
“He’s training and trying to come back. If you don’t train and you lose, you’re gutted too, but you know in the back of your mind it’s on you. Now he’s like: ‘I want to see some reward as well’.”
Michael van Gerwen was knocked out in the first round of the World Grand Prix by Ryan Joyce
Van der Voort does see improvement
That reward in the form of headline results is not coming yet. Still, Van der Voort sees clear signs of recovery in practice and on stage.
“It’s smoother, so if he keeps going like this, it will come. He just always wants it faster than is possible, and people expect that from him too. He realised quite late that he had to change course, and that simply takes time. That’s a criticism of him, that he realised too late it wasn’t going to work that way. He could have figured that out earlier. That didn’t happen, so now you can only move forward.”
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Time is starting to press for Van Gerwen. The three-time world champion has dropped to ninth in the world rankings. That is a huge contrast with the previous thirteen years, in which he consistently ranked among the world’s top four players.
Van der Voort warns the slide may not be over yet. “Now that drifting away is really going to happen, the world’s top 16 isn’t even certain if you look at the rest of this year. That adds even more pressure and doesn’t make it easier. Michael is a guy of extremes, so it could suddenly be extremely nothing in terms of results.”
Hard numbers on the majors
It is above all the performances at the big ranking events that disappoint this season. The last 16 is the furthest Van Gerwen has gone at a major this year. His latest early exit at the World Grand Prix fits the pattern.
“Those are brutal numbers and that’s what you’re judged on in the end,” Van der Voort notes. Yet he also sees an important shift compared to a few months ago. “The positive is that he really recognises it now and is training. Because his peak has been so high, people scrutinise him more. Gerwyn Price had this too, right? He turned it around as well. Very impressive. He’s back up to fourth. People set the bar higher for Van Gerwen, and rightly so.”
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Van der Voort therefore continues to believe in a turnaround, though he realises recent results hardly support that faith. “Only, yes… I also understand that it’s becoming less and less credible. But compared to a few months ago, I had less confidence then than I do now. I hope I’m right for once.”
Littler also sent home surprisingly early
Van Gerwen was not the only big name to stumble in the first round in Leicester. Luke Littler also endured a highly disappointing World Grand Prix. The defending champion lost 2-1 in sets to Luke Woodhouse, ending his chase for a unique run of major titles.
Van der Voort was struck above all by the manner in which the 19-year-old Englishman performed.
“I thought Littler really dropped below par, he was very passive,” says Van der Voort. “It didn’t happen, it was very flat. Truly baffling, it didn’t look good. Woodhouse wasn’t good either, but everything was handed to him on a plate.”
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Van der Voort has no clear explanation for the subpar display. He does add a caveat about the limited number of events Littler is playing.
“For a 19-year-old, he’s actually playing too little. At that age you’re still developing, so you have to train and play a lot to maintain, even improve, your level. But imagine it: you’re 19, the money is flowing in, you’ve just come off the Matchplay with a tournament average of 111 and then someone tells you to train more. ‘What do you think?’, he’ll say. ‘I probably know that best myself’.”
Luke Littler fell in the first round of the World Grand Prix against Luke Woodhouse
‘Right now he’s doing very little’
Littler has never hidden that he doesn’t spend hours on end at the practice board. He also regularly skips tournaments. As long as the titles kept coming, there was little to criticise, Van der Voort argues. With results dipping, that may change.
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“He always got away with it, whatever he did, because he was winning. But now people will think: hang on, it’s really worse now. We need to see how he responds. But if he carries on like this, he’ll only play the European Championship and the Grand Slam before the Worlds in December. He won’t play the Players Championships anymore, so not the Finals either, and probably no more Euro Tours.”
That also puts Littler’s support team more firmly in the spotlight, according to Van der Voort. Relatively little is known about the people who influence the young Englishman’s schedule and development behind the scenes.
“Over the past year there was nothing to evaluate with him, because everything he did worked. He’s quite closed about his support, we don’t know what he’s up to in that area and with whom. But when you’re 19, you still have to play a lot. Of course he has to plan his year, but right now he’s doing very little.”
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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