Striking statistic shows downward curve of form for Van Gerwen on European Tour

It's fair to say that Michael van Gerwen no longer has that aura of invincibility that had followed him around for so long. Whilst he undoubtedly is still a top player, his opponent's must now feel they will always have a chance as recent European Tour history shows.

In his first 47 semi-finals on the Euro Tour, 'Mighty Mike' was victorious in 43 of them. Giving him a European Tour semi-final win percentage of a staggering 91.5%. More recently however, the Dutchman has been successful in just three of his last six matches where a Euro Tour final spot was on the line.

Even more incredibly, two of the three European Tour semi-final defeats van Gerwen has been handed recently have been whitewash losses. At the Austrian Darts Open, van Gerwen was stunned 7-0 by Josh Rock before the Northern Irishman was defeated in the final by Jonny Clayton.

In April 2022, Luke Humphries was the man that put van Gerwen to the sword, defeating him 7-0 in the semi-final of the German Darts Grand Prix.

After van Gerwen's most recent disappointment against Dave Chisnall in a thrilling last leg decider in the semi-final of the Dutch Darts Championship, one in which van Gerwen missed three clear darts for the match at double six. A defeat that would have had an added tinge of disappointment due to fact van Gerwen had been so keen to put on a show for his Dutch compatriots after a poor performance in Rotterdam during the Premier League.