Van Gerwen not getting overconfident despite PDC World Darts Championship favourite tag: "You have no guarantee"

Michael van Gerwen begins his PDC World Darts Championship on Wednesday night. The 33-year-old Dutchman will take on Lewy Williams in his opening match.

Van Gerwen realizes that a lot is expected of him. "Of course, I do assume that and I have to assume that myself. I just have to make sure I'm sharp, I'm ready and I'm going to win. That's all I can do. That has to happen and I have to desire and demand that of myself. Period," said 'Mighty Mike' to The Telegraph.

With four major victories, Van Gerwen is the most successful dart player this year. "You should never get overconfident. At the World Darts Championship, I just start again at zero. You can just go out on your ass against another player and then you're just out, lol. A mistake is easy to make. You have no guarantee. That's why that focus must always be there. But of course we are going to a format that suits me (in sets instead of legs, ed.). With a best of 11 legs, many players can still win from each other. But the longer the matches, the harder it will be for the lesser of the two to win."

With the pressure, Van Gerwen has no problems at all. "I've always had pressure on my shoulders, so it's not like anything has changed. I also have that pressure from myself. I have performance drive, always want to win and it's only good that I have that, because it makes you the player you are.

"But because of that, sometimes you can run into trouble. That's part of it, too. Whether it has ever gotten in my way? No. Of course, at a certain point you become irritable (when things are not going well, like in the previous years, ed.), because you want to keep winning. Due to several factors, things didn't go so well for a while, but if you just keep going, things will work themselves out."

Anything less than a win is quickly viewed as bad with Van Gerwen. "Then you just have to keep doing your thing, because others always think they know better anyway. I can never do it well enough again anyway. If Max Verstappen doesn't win for once, it's exactly the same, isn't it? It's the same for me, actually. If I don't win, it always sucks. Does that bother me? No, I've been there a bit myself. I set the bar high for myself. You have to be able to stand it, but I have thick skin. (With a wink) A very thick one."

Darts is often a psychological game, too. "I don't do anything extra on the mental side, but you learn that when you play long enough. I personally find that you can't mimic a match on stage, with the pressure involved. There, in that moment, it all has to fall right. You get used to it, for me it has become very normal. Some times you are stronger than others, but it has to be in you a little bit. That's what makes you a top player."

Van Gerwen is therefore heading to the World Darts Championship with a lot of confidence after a successful year.

"I played very well and above all I was very solid, I thought that was maybe the most important thing. In all matches my doubles and average scores were good and they also stayed pretty steady. I didn't suddenly go from an average of 98 to 83 for example. (Laughing) The good times have to stay good, so to speak. Once I have that, I'm not so quick to get out of that. Whether I still experience tension? For a World Championship, yes. Then it bubbles up, for sure. You never want to fail on that stage. I always want to make myself proud. And my family. Actually everyone."