"There really is still a lot of work to do" - Vincent van der Voort on his good friend Michael van Gerwen

For Michael Van Gerwen, the past Dutch Darts Masters ended in disappointment. The 35-year-old Dutchman went down 6-3 in the quarterfinals after an underwhelming performance against a poor Luke Littler.

Van Gerwen, who just finished a two week vacation in Thailand, won his opening match against Dirk van Duijvenbode in Den Bosch. Against Littler, however, he stuck with an average of just over 90. "You can't expect everything to be right again after a vacation like that. There really is still a lot of work to do. He will realize that and he will have to do something about it. Otherwise it will remain like this: one day good and the other day less," Vincent van der Voort said in the podcast 'Darts Draait Door'.

"He started throwing cramped. That's all you shouldn't do, but he's trying."

Yet even Van der Voort sees that top form is not far away. In the warm-up, for example, Van Gerwen achieved an insanely high level. "There he threw a nine darter and one 180 score after another. Even Raymond Van Barneveld told him it wasn't normal. But then Michael goes on stage and it doesn't go. So it's in there, but he's not getting it done on stage right now. That could be pressure or something completely different, but at the end of the day that button has to be turned. The sooner the better."

Van der Voort may see some technical mistakes. "I think he stood wrong, a little too far forward. And then you end up too low," he explained without fuss. "But he could also have been too eager. Then you overcompensate and things go wrong. It will be fine, but it's going to take time."