Mardle and Webster on Van Gerwen decline: "He's not as ruthless, he's not as confident and he's lost that aura"

Michael van Gerwen claimed his first Premier League Darts win against Peter Wright in a quality display on Thursday night but as his time without a major title or regularly winning ranking titles continues, the debate is there on whether the aura has completely gone surrounding him.

Wayne Mardle and Mark Webster spoke before the night's action in Liverpool on Sky Sports and the latter in particular discussed how his form on the ProTour shows the fear factor has gone.

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"When you're losing like MVG, it's horrible, you're up here on your own. You can't pass the ball onto the wing and be done with it," said Mardle.

"Mark and I have been in the Premier League where we've made terrible starts and it can manifest itself into panic."

"He hasn't won a major title for almost 15 months now. He lost to a player who averaged 88 at the weekend, that's no disrespect. Players are no longer scared of Michael van Gerwen anymore, he's not as ruthless, he's not as confident and he's lost that aura," said Webster.

"He needs to get it back. He's no longer the World Number One and he needs a major win, he needs something to clutch to."