Van Gerwen hopes to forget below par season with fourth world title
PDCWednesday, 09 December 2020 at 12:00
Michael van Gerwen showed at the end of November that he is getting back to his best just in time for the World Championship, where he hopes to win his fourth world title.
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Van Gerwen came closer and closer to his old form in the autumn, but was beaten by an excellent opponent (twice Simon Whitlock and once Ian White) during the World Grand Prix, European Championship and Grand Slam of Darts. The puzzle pieces fell together at the Players Championship Finals, as he claimed his first major title since March.
This triumph could not have come at a better time, because Van Gerwen also needed that confirmation, he said in an interview with Dutch website Dartsnieuws. “It was a great moment to win a tournament. That was very important to me. I can gain self-confidence from this and I want to continue that to the World Championship.''
The world number one won only two of the eleven TV tournaments this year, his worst result since 2013. Then he started the following year with the world title, something that can now make up for his entire season.
''If you win the world title, you are over the moon and you want to forget the rest. I'm someone who wants to win every tournament that I participate in. Everyone knows that the World Championship is the most important tournament and I just want to shine there. ''
Despite a disappointing season, the three-time world champion still won the most ranking prize money of all darts players on the PDC Tour. What does that say? ''Then I did something good. Still the right things at the right times. This year I was not in my best shape. Everyone expects more than a semi-final, myself as well. Of course I am not satisfied (with this season), But it is less bad than people think.''
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Hunt for fourth world title
Van Gerwen starts the World Championship with a match against the winner of the match between Ryan Murray and Lourence Ilagan. The Filipino is the most well-known player of this two for the Dutchman.
“I once saw Ilagan play against Vincent (van der Voort). He actually played a pretty strong match. It is a player who puts a lot of aggression into his match.''
When Van Gerwen was reminded that he once threw two nine-darters in a Pro Tour match against Murray, he could also tell a little more about the Scot. "I didn't even remember that, but that is quite a nice player.''
Van Gerwen's first game is scheduled for Saturday December 19, but he will be heading to the United Kingdom next Wednesday. He does not yet know whether he will stay a victory in London or return to the Netherlands during the Christmas break. "In any case, I have to make sure that I get my rest. Also I don't want to come into contact with too many people, which is why I also go there by car. Then I assume it will be fine.''
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I stumbled into the world of darts quite by accident back in 2013. For a Journalism School assignment, I had to produce a live sports report and as it happened, the European Tour event in Veldhoven was the only available option. That weekend, I caught the darts bug. The post-match interviews especially appealed to me, as darts players tend to be much more open and approachable than what you usually see with footballers on television.
After a few detours, I joined Dartsnieuws.com in 2017 as editor-in-chief. I don’t have much competitive experience myself, although I once entered a PDC Development Tour weekend just to experience what it’s like from a player’s perspective. I even managed to win a leg against a Tour Card holder and, quite by accident, earned £50 in prize money.
In 2022, I was also involved in the founding of the TOTO Dart Kings, a commercial darts team, where I worked as media manager for three years. Unfortunately, due to new legislation in the Netherlands, that project came to an end in 2025.
Through my work in darts, I’ve been fortunate to travel to some incredible events, from Premier League nights at Ahoy Rotterdam, to several World Championships, and even the US Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Beyond darts, I’m a passionate sports fan in general. You can always wake me up for a game of tennis or padel, and I love following football, tennis, padel, cycling, Formula 1, and ice skating.
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- Need to see her take part in the womens tour. She'll break the inernet.medinabello08-09-2026
- If he can be bothered? He won't play darts in Germany yet he'll go over and get an award!??rick6702-09-2026
- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- I'd happily pay for a site free of Van der Voort's every squeak and utterance.StraightArrowNoBull19-08-2026
- I think you miss the point. It is just a poll if you are willing to pay for an ad-free site. The content stays free.SheGotLegs16-08-2026
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