Van Gerwen went out in a poor 11-4 defeat to Simon Whitlock. “It really didn't stick for Michael. Now and then he threw some nice scores, but there was no consistency in it," said Stompé.

"It can indeed take a while before you are used to new darts," continues Stompé. "But in the meantime he has been throwing them for about seven months, in fact it should no longer be used as an excuse anymore. ”

Klaasen also gave his opinion on the situation. “Michael has been throwing very changeable lately, either it is very good or not. He used to go into every game with great hunger to really demolish his opponent, I see that less recently. It will be really important for him to find that hunger again. ”