Van Gerwen on unwanted barren run of title wins: "Of course it's on my mind because you want to win all the time"

Michael van Gerwen returned to action at the European Tour running out a 6-4 winner against Daryl Gurney on Saturday night at the Hungarian Darts Trophy.

Van Gerwen will now face Brendan Dolan in the Last 16 and he was pleased to be back in front of fans and playing well in the process.

"Playing out here felt really good to be fair in front of a big crowd, that's always nice. It's gives you a lot of energy. I think I played a good game, overall I think it was a good night and that's really important for myself and for everyone involved in darts," he said to Online Darts.

He discussed pressure as well which comes in many forms whether that is against Gurney or just in general due to his status.

"You don't want to lose, you know Daryl (Gurney) is in good form. He plays quite solid, quite good at this pace because when he is this relaxed, he can do some damage and I knew that beforehand because you could see that against Vincent van der Voort."

"Of course there's extra pressure because everyone wants to beat me. I've always got a big target."

As well as the pressure to win a first title of the year with Van Gerwen going on a barren run since the back end of 2020.

"Of course it's on my mind because you want to win all the time and I know what it is to win tournaments and I always put pressure on my shoulders and that's who I am but don't forget I've been close a lot of times and I should have won here and there. But I know what I'm capable of, I know how good I am and I need to make sure I show that tomorrow."