"Summer vibes with the family": Michael van Gerwen enjoys holiday with wife and kids in Ibiza ahead of World Matchplay

The period between the World Cup of Darts and World Matchplay in particular is a quiet one and for many it is either exhibitions or in Michael van Gerwen's case, a holiday away that recharges the batteries ahead of a busy run-in. His latest holiday is to Ibiza with his wife Daphne and his children Zoë and Mike.

"Summer vibes with the family on beautiful Ibiza! Grateful for these moments together. See you guys next week at the World Matchplay," he wrote sharing the post on social media.

It featured his family enjoying dinner and time on a boat out on the Spanish island. He has previously holidayed in the Maldives and Las Vegas. The latter in which he was pictured with famous Dutch DJ Tiësto. His wife Daphne and hospitality entrepreneur and television personality Won Yip are also pictured with him.

But he has also holidayed in Ibiza before so is a fan of the island. He did so back in late 2023 where he snubbed the Australian double header on the World Series of Darts to go on a family holiday. But he will also miss the double header this year also for family reasons. So he has decided to go to the island earlier than perhaps planned.

For Van Gerwen, it hasn't been the greatest year compared to his usual high standards. At the 2024 World Championship, he lost out to Scott Williams and was dumped out of the UK Open by Mensur Suljovic. His only major final this year was a defeat to Stephen Bunting in the final of the 2024 Masters. He was defeated in the play-offs 10-5 by Luke Humphries of the Premier League Darts.

His only title this season came at the Dutch Darts Masters where he beat Luke Littler in the final 8-6 with a best of a semi-final on the ProTour and an 8-1 hammering in a European Tour final to Luke Humphries. He didn't play the ProTour tournaments last week likely due to his holiday. But a thorn in his side will creep up again at the World Matchplay next week.

Having not won the World Matchplay since 2022 and before that not since 2016, Van Gerwen would've hoped to hit the ground running amid also his admission that Luke Humphries and Luke Littler are the best players in the world after being fairly bullish about his own hopes previously. But Littler will face MVG in a blockbuster first round clash in a real titanic tussle that will be a nightmare for the PDC and also Sky Sports losing one of their big names in the opening rounds.

But amid his hopes to catch the best again, Van Gerwen will hope to send out a statement against the 17-year-old who has aimed to unseat him at the top table at world darts. Can a holiday in Ibiza roar him back into life? Time will tell.