Van Gerwen fails to seal fourth PDC World Darts Championship: “I short-changed myself and that's very painful”

Michael van Gerwen failed to win the PDC World Darts Championship for the fourth time in his career. The 33-year-old Dutchman went down 7-4 against Michael Smith in the final.

A distraught Van Gerwen told his story to Viaplay afterwards. "In the beginning of the match we both played fantastic. But afterwards I started missing some important doubles and that broke me down sourly. If you don't take those little chances you get into big trouble against a Smith in this form."

"I can only blame myself for this," continued 'Mighty Mike'. "I didn't play fantastic, especially towards the end my level dropped a bit. But that was because I fell behind and started to force something."

"This is something I am very disappointed about," said Van Gerwen. "I'm playing a great tournament, but in the final I short-changed myself and that's very painful."