“That’s something he doesn’t normally do” – Michael van Gerwen frustrated by Grand Slam exit to Noppert

Michael van Gerwen could do little else on Thursday night but admit that Danny Noppert was simply the better player. The three-time world champion was beaten 10-6 in an all-Dutch clash at the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton, where Noppert took control with icy precision.

Van Gerwen started strongly with a 170 checkout, only to see Noppert hit the exact same finish in reply. From there, the Dutchman pulled away with a string of big shots, including 101, 69 and 74. He steadily extended his advantage and eventually sealed the match on double 20.

Afterwards, a disappointed Van Gerwen appeared in front of the cameras. “Everything’s going against me a bit at the moment, and credit to him as well,” he told Viaplay. “He’s played one of the best matches of his life up there. Then you’re constantly chasing and trying to hang on… and I’m obviously not in the best phase of my life right now.”

Van Gerwen was referring to the difficult period he’s going through away from the sport. The former world number one admitted his form hasn’t been where he wants it for some time. Even so, he mainly wanted to acknowledge Noppert’s performance. “Yeah, that’s something he doesn’t normally do. We can talk about it for as long or as short as you like. He played a really cracking match.”

Although the final scoreline of 10-6 looked clear enough, Van Gerwen felt the match had slipped away earlier. “Towards the end you could see it was getting tough for both of us. But I didn’t lose it at the end, I lost it much earlier. That’s what annoys me. I think I was actually feeling quite good, but that means absolutely nothing.”

Noppert, who has reached the quarter-finals of this tournament for the first time, admitted he wasn’t flawless. “I don’t know what happened, it was really poor,” he said of the closing stages. Still, pride was the overriding emotion: “Very happy.”

In the quarter-final, Noppert will face German debutant Lukas Wenig, who knocked out compatriot Niko Springer. With Van Gerwen, Gian van Veen, Jurjen van der Velde and Wessel Nijman all out, Noppert is the last Dutchman standing in Wolverhampton.