"One week it’s good, the next week it honestly looks like it’s going absolutely nowhere" – Van Gerwen faces criticism over new lifestyle

Michael van Gerwen is under pressure again in the closing stages of the Premier League Darts. Where the Dutchman was a mainstay in the play-offs for years, his position is once more starting to wobble this season. With three nights to go, he can feel the chasing pack closing in, while his preparation and form have also become a talking point.

In Aberdeen, Van Gerwen had the chance to pull away from direct rivals, but he let that opportunity slip. In the quarterfinals he had to bow 6-3 to Luke Humphries. That defeat brought both Humphries and Gian van Veen to within two points of the Dutchman, leaving the race for the play-off spots wide open.

The build-up to the match in Aberdeen was anything but calm for Van Gerwen. On the weekend before the round, he celebrated King’s Day and was out for several days. During one of those occasions, he was involved in an incident. “That man had clearly had too much to drink and, to me, his anger came out of nowhere. When he seemed to be heading for the exit, he suddenly lashed out,” Van Gerwen told Sportnieuws.nl about the incident.

The darter stressed that the incident did not reflect the evening as a whole. “It’s a shame these images are being shared without any context. Otherwise it was a calm and convivial evening in which nothing out of the ordinary happened. But well, it is what it is.”

Shortly after those particular days, Van Gerwen had to get back to work at the highest level, but his display against Humphries disappointed. According to analyst and former pro Vincent van der Voort, the standard was subpar.

“It just wasn’t good,” Van der Voort said on Viaplay. He mainly saw too many inaccuracies in his good friend’s game. “Van Gerwen is a generational talent, he has won everything there is to win. But the way he’s going about it right now, it can’t be consistent.”

The criticism is not only about his game, but also the circumstances around it. Van der Voort points to the impact of Van Gerwen’s current lifestyle. “But to then switch and play at the highest level again is also mentally very difficult. Because you’re in party mode, it’s all fun and games, and then suddenly on Wednesday you have to get on a plane and on Thursday you have to deliver a top performance.”

According to Van der Voort, that is the crux of the problem. Combining downtime and elite sport is proving hard to sustain at the highest level. “This life he’s living now doesn’t go together. We’ve watched it for four, five months. One week it’s good, the next week it honestly looks like it’s going absolutely nowhere.”

His conclusion is clear. “It’s not going to get better if you approach it this way. Anyone who wants to compete at the top has to live for it. If you can’t bring yourself to do that, it’s a tough story.”

At the same time, Van der Voort also shows understanding for Van Gerwen’s situation. The Dutchman has been at the top level from a young age and has worked through an intense schedule for years. On top of that, last year brought a turbulent period in his private life, including his divorce from Daphne Govers. “On match day he does everything he needs to do to be good, just not around it,” said Van der Voort.

With a few nights left, Van Gerwen faces a crucial phase in the season. While he reached the play-offs in nine of the previous eleven editions of the Premier League, he now needs to dig in to avoid missing out again.