“Let them talk. I really don’t care at all” – Van Gerwen doesn’t care about criticism after going on night out in Dublin

Michael van Gerwen decided last week to explore the nightlife together with Luke Humphries. Thursday featured the seventh Premier League night on the schedule in Dublin, after which footage emerged online of both Van Gerwen and Humphries clearly enjoying their outing in an Irish bar.

“Going out? That’s a bit of an exaggeration,” Van Gerwen told De Telegraaf when asked about his night in Dublin. The current world number four had earlier that evening lost to Luke Littler (6-5) in the semi-finals after skipping the quarter-finals due to the withdrawal of his compatriot Gian van Veen.

Despite this disappointing result, Van Gerwen decided to visit a local bar with Luke Humphries, who also lost in the semi-finals, but to Gerwyn Price (6-1). Although they had no cause for celebration, the footage showed the pair enjoying themselves, arms around each other as they sang along to the music. “I did head home first,” Van Gerwen admitted. “I had an early flight, so by five to six I was already on the plane.”

Afterwards, there was considerable criticism of the video featuring the dancing Van Gerwen. Among others, his good friend Vincent van der Voort had his doubts about the outing. “He’s building, it’s a very important year and he’s saying that everywhere. And then you go out. Personally, I don’t think it’s very smart, but it’s also not for me. I’d rather go out with my friends than with all those darters. They’re colleagues for a reason. And it’s not like Van Gerwen can never go out, right. But he reached the semi-finals and played well, so you can’t really say anything,” he said.

Van Gerwen himself pays little attention to criticism from others. “Let them talk. I really don’t care at all. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, that doesn’t bother me. Of course, if you look back at what the evening brings… yeah, enjoyment at that moment. Sometimes at this age you do things that later make you think: was that really necessary? No, but at the time you’re just having a good time,” he said.

2026 is a crucial year for ‘Mighty Mike’, who, after two lean seasons, has a lot of prize money to defend and therefore must deliver at the big ranking tournaments if he doesn’t want to slide down the world rankings. “People make a big deal out of it and try to read into everything. If you’ve had two bad years, you know you have to perform in the years after, otherwise you’ll fall down the rankings. It’s that simple.”

“I haven’t played worse since winning the first Premier League night,” he continued. “There are still many areas where I can improve. You always want to win, but I’m playing reasonably well. If you keep doing that, you build confidence and start getting better results. I have to work very hard for every win, no matter how well I’m playing. You want to turn that around and win matches more easily.”

Aside from that first Premier League night, the Dutchman has only won the Bahrain Darts Masters this year in January. “I’ve had ups and downs, which is why I’ll be going back to the floor tournaments next week to build rhythm.” By ups and downs, he means the disappointing World Masters and the antibiotics he had to take a few weeks later.

This Thursday is the eighth night of the Premier League in Berlin. One player returning after a week’s absence is Gian van Veen, who had to skip Dublin last week due to kidney stones. Van Gerwen, who also had to pull out ill for one night this year, is pleased his compatriot will be back in the fold this evening. “You’re dealing with players, not robots. You can’t expect someone to be there for seventeen straight weeks—that’s almost impossible,” he concluded.