Michael van Gerwen won the exhibition match A Night at the Darts at Silverstone on Sunday evening. The Dutchman saw off
Luke Littler during the event and then defeated
Fallon Sherrock in the final, making him the inaugural winner of the darts event at the famous Formula 1 circuit.
The exhibition tournament served as the post-race entertainment after the British Grand Prix. In addition to Van Gerwen, reigning world champion Luke Littler, world champion
Luke Humphries, and Fallon Sherrock also took to the stage. Although no ranking points or prize money were at stake, the event filled the tent with Formula 1 and darts fans.
It was also Van Gerwen’s
first visit to Silverstone. “Great fun. I’d never been here before,” the Brabant native told
AD Sportwereld afterwards. “I’ve never won anything at Silverstone.”
The three-time world champion has previously attended the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort and hopes to be present next month for the final edition of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Beating Littler? About time, right
Van Gerwen had to get past Luke Littler in the semi-finals, against whom he had lost six times in a row recently. This time the Dutchman came out on top. On stage, he reacted with a wink to that victory.
“Beating Littler? About time, right.” He then immediately put his performance into perspective. “No, it’s just an exhibition, you know. And it’s been a long day for everyone, so it doesn’t mean much.”
Van Gerwen couldn’t resist delivering a playful jab at Littler as well. The Englishman is a fervent Manchester United supporter, which offered an easy opening. “It’s a painful year for Dutch Formula 1 fans. It feels a bit like the last few years of Manchester United.”
Michael van Gerwen has had a great weekend.
After beating Littler, Van Gerwen advanced to the final, where Fallon Sherrock had surprisingly knocked out Luke Humphries. The Dutchman ultimately took that match as well and ended the evening lifting the trophy.
Despite the overall win, Van Gerwen stressed that the fun at these kinds of exhibition events comes first. “These kinds of nights are always great fun. Whether you win doesn’t matter much, but it’s nice to show what you can do.”