Van Gerwen wouldn't mind repeat of 2022 title haul despite lost World final: "Can I sign now? Then I'll do it right away"

Michael van Gerwen won four major majors in 2022, but the icing on the cake was missing. In the final of the World Darts Championship, 'Mighty Mike' went down against Michael Smith.

At the time, he visibly struggled with this defeat. Now, almost four months later, Van Gerwen shrugs his shoulders over the lost World Championship Final.

''It genuinely doesn't interest me any more now. Really not," he told AD.nl. ''That happens. You win and you lose. I can easily put things into perspective. Really. There is absolutely no point in worrying about it for a long time. Other people worry about it more than I do. Life goes on.''

Van Gerwen's big goal for this season is to regain the number-one position in the world rankings. That doesn't even require the world title. Van Gerwen made a striking statement about this.

''I had a fantastic year last year. I won four majors and made it to the World Championship final. What more could you want? Yes, to win the World Championship, of course. But if I win four majors again this year and lose the World Championship final... Can I sign now? Then I'll do it right away.

"Who performs something like that? Price is not going to do that this year either, I can tell you. The World Championship weighs very heavily, but even without winning the World Championship I can become number one in the world this year. That's my goal. That's what I'm going for. Of course I want to win the World Championship, but actually becoming number one without a World Championship win would be even more handsome."