Michael van Gerwen's slide down the rankings is gathering pace, and former world number one Colin Lloyd believes the Dutchman's days at the top could be numbered. Van Gerwen's latest major disappointment came at the World Grand Prix, where he lost to Ryan Joyce after taking a one-set lead. The clinical Englishman fired himself back into contention, winning the other two sets 3-1 as van Gerwen missed a grand total of 21 darts at a double.
It is the third time van Gerwen has exited a major event at the first hurdle in 2026, following in the footsteps of the Winmau Masters and World Series of Darts Finals. He has only made it past that stage once in his five prior events, that coming in Players Championship 30 in a run to the quarter-finals. Ranked ninth in the world, he is set to finish the year outside the top 10 for the first time since 2011 — a huge fall from grace. He went into the World Grand Prix with little to defend but could not capitalise on that.
Speaking on the Love the Darts podcast, Lloyd questioned what is going wrong for the three-time world champion. "It was a free hit. I don't want to say he wasn't ready for it, but he didn't look comfortable," Lloyd said. "There has been some odd results throughout the last six to eight months where you think everything seems to be going well." Lloyd noted events in van Gerwen's personal life may have taken precedence, but narrowed down the reasons behind his poor form to his hunger. "Michael has had a lot going on in his private life. He loves spending time with his kids and whatever. Perhaps just that little bit of hunger's gone. That little bit of hunger's gone. There's no question that Michael's still a class player but it is just a case of - when you start losing that little bit of hunger and you lose that little bit of fire in you."
Van Gerwen has achieved more than most in darts, with his prime years between 2016 and 2018 almost inevitable, with no one even coming close to the greatness he was showcasing. That is a long time ago now. While the years culminating that still produced some brilliant moments, van Gerwen has recently lost that knack for winning and is being swamped by the top players around him in a changing of the guard. Lloyd did not think van Gerwen would not be under huge amounts of pressure to keep competing at the highest level, with threats of him not even competing in the near future.
"I don't personally believe that if Michael van Gerwen steps away, you won't see Michael van Gerwen come back," the former World Matchplay champion acknowledged. "He won't come back because financially he's set. He can spend so much more time with the kids and he can put in the odd exhibitions here and there, the odd appearances here and there. He has been doing it since he was 17. He won the World Masters at 17 years old, which is 20 years ago or whatever it is. People will say he is still young enough but he has got battle scars. He has got battle scars from that 17-year-old kid all the way up to now. At some point or another, mentally and physically, you think to yourself, do I really need to go through this anymore?"
Van Gerwen will bid for the Swiss Darts Trophy title this weekend.
