Michael van Gerwen has dropped a bombshell during his first-ever online livestream, revealing that he barely practised during the years he dominated world darts. The three-time world champion, broadcasting from his own practice room, answered fan questions on his form, training routine, and recent Czech Darts Open semi-final, but it was his admission about his old habits that stole the show. Asked how much he practised in his prime, Van Gerwen replied bluntly: “Zero. I never used to practise because I played a lot of tournaments.”
The Dutchman, who described the last 18 months as a “tough, tough time,” admitted the new format made him nervous. “Now, this is all new for me. I'm a little bit nervous, to be fair, but it's a nice incentive to start practising for me and getting some interaction with the fans,” he said. The nerves didn’t fade: “I'm more nervous for this than I'm playing at Ally Pally. Serious. How can that happen? It's a bit crazy.” He also struggled to keep up with the rapid chat while throwing, saying, “Seriously, guys, if you see how quickly this goes, it's absolutely ridiculous. Sometimes for me it's also difficult to keep concentrating on the screen and on the dartboard, so I need to find the right balance.”
Van Gerwen’s situation is now very different. “But when you're in less good form, you simply have to work harder. That's how it is. Simple,” he explained. “And of course we all know I had a tough, tough time in the last 18 months, but now I need to make sure I get back on the ball.” He stressed that consistency is the priority: “For me now, the most important thing, guys, is get back on the practice board, get consistent again. Of course I still have sometimes good games, but it's too many ups and downs. So that's why I need to make sure I keep making my hours and everything.”
Despite his past lack of practice, Van Gerwen detailed his current routines, revealing that he often plays 121 as his favourite practice game and follows advice from Vincent van der Voort on finishing drills. “What I do most of the time is around the doubles, or what Vincent tells me: start on 51 to 60. That's ten goes and you need to hit a minimum seven of the ten finishes. Then when you did that, you go from 61 to 70 and then keep going on. It's not easy, but you need to keep battling to make sure you keep focusing, because that's always the point. Just throwing darts at the dartboard, everyone can do that, but not everyone can do this.” He also stressed the importance of practising match-winning situations: “More importantly, you need to hit the right scoring at the right moments and you need to do the right finishing at that moment. That's how you win games. That's where you need to make sure you keep practising, but don't only practise. Keep repeating it daily.”
Van Gerwen also reflected on his Czech Darts Open campaign in Prague, where he reached the semi-finals before losing to Luke Littler. “I enjoyed Prague a lot. I had a decent tournament. I didn't play well against Luke, but Luke played out of his skin. But I still think it was a good result. It was a nice step upwards again. Semi-final, not a bad result, but of course you always want more.” He revealed he has lost 28 kilos, joking that his divorce helped: “And guys, to lose weight, very good, very good. I have some very good advice: just divorce. That's so much stress. Doesn't matter. Easy.” He also confirmed he will play in the Euro Tour event in Maastricht, saying, “Yes, I will be playing in the Euro Tour in Holland. The Euro Tour in Holland is in Maastricht. The last time I was there, it was a long time ago. I've won over there. So no, I like it. Close to home, why not? It would be really weird if I wouldn't go.”
