Mardle on Van Gerwen as title wait continues after World Matchplay: "He's now only a world class darts player'

Wayne Mardle alongside Rod Studd examined the key talking points from the World Matchplay and one of those was Michael van Gerwen and his status as the top player in darts.

Now World Number Three and seeing Peter Wright streak further ahead in the Order of Merit alongside Gerwyn Price, many argue he is not the player he once was and Mardle agrees with that sentiment saying that the intimidation factor in particular isn't there anymore.

"He's now only a world class darts player, he's not the best darts player anymore, he's one of many. But there are things this week I've seen that me personally I don't like," said Mardle to Sky Sports.

"We know that where he was practicing, it was away from everyone, it's away from the players he used to intimidate on the practice board, now he wants to be away from that and it says to me he hasn't got the confidence now to intimidate them on the practice board, maybe he's feeling that little bit inferior, I don't know.

"He's on a board, away from everyone where nobody can actually influence what he's doing, it's all about him which I get. But he always influenced the others. Now he's not doing that and that for me is a lack of confidence within him as a person and a darts player. My narrative is that he's just lacking confidence."

But from Van Gerwen lacking confidence at the top of the Order of Merit, he also spoke about players he is worried about in terms of their futures in the game with Glen Durrant and Daryl Gurney standing out.

"I'm kind of worried about Glen (Durrant). He's tried hard to get his game back and said he's a bit happier, he thinks he's just going to take a few months to kind of be a guide as to where his game's at. But it was the fall off, the fall off was in weeks. He's never blamed COVID, he's never blamed that which again as a narrative is easy to do. The man said it wasn't that so I believe the man," he continued.

"Daryl Gurney has just been very, very average for too long and I'm one of those that I think he comes back actually, I sense a man that has so much quality and he doesn't kind of look to me that he's bereft of all confidence. Duzza is that little bit different. Again he's of an age, the older you are the harder it is to get it back. He'll work, but again time will tell, about like Van Gerwen and Beaton, Lewis, Whitlock."