Michael van Gerwen’s disappointing week on the oche may have a clear explanation, according to close friend Vincent van der Voort. The three-time world champion struggled through two Players Championships in England and the Hungarian Darts Trophy in Budapest, but van der Voort insists the results were misleading given the Dutchman’s severe illness.
Van Gerwen’s week yielded little prize money: he exited in the opening round of one Players Championship, reached only the third round of the other, and saw his Hungarian campaign end at the last 16. The timing is particularly concerning with the World Championship in December approaching, as the Dutchman still needs strong results to shore up his ranking.
Speaking about his compatriot’s condition, van der Voort revealed the extent of the problem: “It wasn’t great all week, that’s right. I’m always very strict, hard and direct with and about him, but this week there wasn’t a lot he could do. He was really very ill. He came back from Zandvoort and it was unreal. Coughing, honestly unreal. On the Tuesday he shouldn’t even have played, because he had a fever.”
Despite the physical issues, Van Gerwen chose to compete, but it was clear he was far from fit. “All of that was with a huge effort and little energy. As the week went on he did start to feel better, only you’re not immediately recovered from those previous days. You’re already out of form, tired, behind on practice and then… it’s very hard work for him. He felt that himself too,” van der Voort added.
Van der Voort also noted that Van Gerwen’s confidence is lower than in his dominant years, making it even harder to produce top-level performances. However, he remains optimistic: “They all still find it difficult to play Michael. It’s definitely still in there. There needs to be a lot more practice and he’s going to do that. Then we need to see him get better week by week.” At the Hungarian Darts Trophy, Van Gerwen still had chances to beat Nathan Aspinall despite his troubled build-up, reinforcing van der Voort’s belief that the former world number one remains a threat.
