"There’s no aggression, no fire" - Vincent van der Voort questions struggling Michael van Gerwen

Michael van Gerwen has been struggling to find his best form lately. The 35-year-old Dutchman may have reached the PDC World Darts Championship final earlier this year—where he lost 7-3 to Luke Littler—but since then, things haven’t quite clicked for him. Even his close friend, Vincent van der Voort, has noticed that Van Gerwen seems to be battling with himself more than his opponents.

This past weekend, Van Gerwen suffered yet another early exit, crashing out of the Belgian Darts Open in his opening match with a 6-4 loss to Croatia’s Boris Krcmar. Van der Voort, speaking on the podcast Darts Draait Door, pointed out that something crucial is missing from Van Gerwen’s game. "He’s not stepping onto that stage with a do-or-die mentality anymore. There’s no aggression, no fire to show that he’s still the dominant force he once was. It all looks a bit routine, a bit obligatory," Van der Voort remarked.

He went on to emphasize the importance of intensity and mindset. "It’s about how you approach the game, the energy you bring. But Michael doesn’t seem to feel that himself. That’s understandable—how you appear on TV and how you feel internally can be two very different things. That’s why I tell him: watch yourself back on TV. He used to be a bouncing ball of energy on stage."

Van Gerwen’s body language last weekend was unusually subdued, even submissive—something completely out of character. "If there’s one thing he’s never been, it’s submissive. That really surprised me," Van der Voort admitted. "There’s no aggression in his game anymore, and he needs that. He used to want to devour his opponents—I just don’t see that in him right now."

However, Van der Voort also acknowledged that Van Gerwen’s struggles aren’t as simple as just switching his mindset. "You have to consider his family, the relentless schedule—it’s easy for us to sit back in a studio and comment, but he’s the one who has to go out there and do it. Talking about it is the easy part."

So, what’s next for Van Gerwen? Can he rediscover the fire that made him one of the most feared players in darts? Or is this just the new reality for the Dutchman? Time will tell—but right now, even his biggest supporters are starting to ask questions.