"I'm not feeling well but I don't want to make any excuses and I'm glad I won and got this out of the way," said Van Gerwen to ITV post match.
"I was throwing up before my game so I need to make sure I go to bed now and make sure I rest for tomorrow. A long day and I need to make sure I'm fit."
"This afternoon I played quite alright. In patches tonight I played ok but I'm putting myself under pressure too much and I should make it a lot easier and when you don't do it, you're going to give them chances."
On facing Dirk van Duijvenbode, he is expecting a tough game: "It wasn't natural today, I had to work for it. I know what his abilities and I know what he's capable of."
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VAN GERWEN WINS!
A shake of the head from Van Gerwen but he seals his spot in the quarter-finals after a hard-fought 10-7 victory over Jeffrey De Zwaan and the hunt for a sixth Players Championship Finals trophy is still on!