Van Gerwen on missing Christmas due to travel restrictions: "Making sacrifices like that is part of your journey"

Michael van Gerwen has missed out on Christmas back home this year due to the ongoing PDC World Darts Championship with travel restrictions affecting even players who have exited out of the tournament.

But for Van Gerwen, he admitted it is the sacrifices he has to make for glory and that the only issue is of course missing his son, Mike Jr's first Christmas.

The World Number One points out though that his best friend Vincent van der Voort is with him still in the tournament and that he usually is at home for limited time during Christmas anyway.

"I drove home (to the Netherlands) at 5.30 in the morning on the Sunday, but when I got home I spoke with my wife and she wasn't really sure about it (the coronavirus situation) as well as myself, so we both decided - before the UK Government decided to close the borders - to go back," Van Gerwen told Sky Sports News.

"I made the right choice otherwise I could be stuck in Holland. You need to make sure you do the right things for yourself and this is the most important tournament of the year. You want to be sharp here and of course making sacrifices like that is part of your journey."

"On Christmas Day we have a meal together, but the rest of the time it's just darts. But that's the same every year," he added.

"This is the first year with my son's Christmas, so that's a bit different. But what can you do? I'm a professional so I know what to do to win titles.

"I'm stuck in my room this year. Luckily, I have enough space and I have a few bits and bobs to make sure I'm comfortable. I'll probably go and practice and prepare myself for my third-round match so the only thing I can think about is preparing myself for that.

"My good friend Vincent van der Voort is in the room next to me and we have a connecting door so we share a lot of time together. That makes things a bit easier for yourself. On the 26th, we're going to have our third (coronavirus) test but the only thing that counts for me is this world championship.

"My family are used to not having me around over Christmas and New Year's Eve."