What does a matchday look like for Michael van Gerwen at the World Darts Championship?

Michael van Gerwen knows what it takes to perform on the biggest stage. On Thursday evening, he begins his nineteenth World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, a venue where he became world champion three times and where experience is at least as important as form. In the build-up to his first match against Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, Van Gerwen offered a glimpse into his standard match day, a day that revolves mainly around rest and timing.

The Dutchman will step on stage around 10:15 PM for his opener against the Japanese player, but there is hardly any tension or chaos in the hours before. Van Gerwen deliberately keeps his Worlds days empty. “I actually do very little on such a day,” he says on the podcast Darts Draait Door.

That is no coincidence, but a deliberate choice. As a seeded player, Van Gerwen knows weeks in advance that he will play in the evening session. That gives him the freedom to shape his day entirely to his liking. “Apart from that lunch, I lie on my bed and watch Netflix,” he says. Nothing more happens.

Where many athletes pack their match day with rituals and routines, Van Gerwen opts for the opposite. The fewer stimuli, the better. No long walks, no extra practice, no distractions. The body must stay fresh, the mind clear.

That lunch is the only fixed moment he steps outside. After that, he returns to the hotel, where he shuts himself off until it is time to head for Alexandra Palace.

Only four hours before his match does the rhythm change. “Four hours before I have to play, I drive to the venue. It’s a half-hour drive anyway. Beyond that, I want to preserve my rest as much as possible.” He knows the route to Ally Pally by heart. The hill, the car park, the backstage entrance, everything is familiar.

Once there, Van Gerwen cannot escape his status. Interviews come with the territory. “When you come in, there’s a battalion of journalists waiting for pre-match interviews,” he says. He does them without complaint. “I have to do them, but I don’t mind.”

After those obligations, he withdraws again. No rush, no nerves. Van Gerwen knows the real work starts later.

He is also deliberately restrained at the practice board. While some players throw for hours to “get into it,” Van Gerwen guards against that feeling. “I hate that if I’ve been inside for half an hour, I already feel like I’m ready,” he explains.

He sees peaking too early as a risk. Still, he wants to stay active. “I like to keep busy,” he says, “but that’s why I try to rein it in a bit.” The ideal moment to switch on is crystal clear to him. “Three quarters of an hour before a match, ‘it’ has to be there.”

That timing is the result of almost twenty years of experience on the World Darts Championship stage. Van Gerwen knows exactly when to step on the gas and when not to. It is a balance learned through trial and error.

The real foundation for his Worlds form is of course laid weeks earlier. In the run-up to the tournament, Van Gerwen actively seeks out top-level opposition. He recently played several consecutive days in Finland, where he spent nine days competing in matches against, among others, Luke Littler. “Those are the best training sessions,” he states. “Because you’re really there with a purpose.”

For Van Gerwen, practice without pressure is pointless. Matches force him to stay sharp. “You get paid to give it everything, so you want to deliver.” Pride is also a factor. “You don’t want those others to beat you easily.”

That combination of match rhythm and controlled rest should lift him to his best level in the coming weeks. Last year, Van Gerwen unexpectedly reached the final, in which he lost to Littler. This time he feels better prepared.

He is clear about his ambitions. “I’m aiming for at least a final,” Van Gerwen says without hesitation. That confidence is based on his current form. “I’m in a better place than last year. I’m throwing reasonably well.”

At the same time, he remains critical. Perfection does not exist. “Here and there, there’s still some fine-tuning to do,” he admits. But the base is solid. “Beyond that, I feel good.”