Michael van Gerwen has suffered another disappointment. The three-time world champion lost 6-3 to compatriot Kevin Doets in the first round of the European Darts Championship in Dortmund on Friday night. As a result of this loss, Van Gerwen is out of the top 10 for the first time in 14 years. He has dropped to World No.13, and the pain is unlikely to stop there, with MVG currently slated as of time of writing to drop out of the top 20 when the PDC World Darts Championship comes.
A visibly frustrated Van Gerwen spoke to Viaplay after the match. The Dutchman admitted that his string of defeats was taking its toll, but refused to give up. “Yes, definitely. You keep getting knocked back. You have to try to guard against that,” Van Gerwen said when asked if the disappointing results were beginning to wear him down. According to “Mighty Mike”, several key finishes from Doets shaped the match. His checkouts of 106 and 132 came at particularly painful moments. “I think he just struggled a little at the start of the match, then he took out 106. After that, he checked out 132 at a really important moment. That hurts, but I also needed to give a little more after that.” Van Gerwen felt he had not been able to build on his good spells. “I couldn’t follow them up with another good leg. That’s frustrating at times.”
Despite the setbacks, Van Gerwen remains convinced he can rediscover his old form. The Dutchman stressed that his current performances are not always particularly poor, but he expects much more from himself. “I know Michael van Gerwen isn’t in form, and I’m still averaging 95 or 96. That’s not terrible, especially in a first-round match. But I know I can play much better. You always have to keep striving for that.” The former world number one knows he is going through a difficult spell. “It’s hard work at the moment. Everyone seems to find an extra gear against me, but I’ll have to keep working extremely hard. It’s as simple as that.”
Van Gerwen was also asked if he felt he now began every match at a mental disadvantage. “Yes, mentally. It doesn’t bother me that much. They just do a little extra, and you have to give them credit for that. But I always have to look at myself and stay focused on my own game.” He felt he had largely managed to do that against Doets, but lacked the right scoring at decisive moments. “I did that in this match too, just not well enough. I think I missed a few treble 20s at important moments.” Finally, Van Gerwen highlighted his compatriot’s inconsistent but dangerous game. “You know you’re playing Kevin Doets. He sometimes throws a very good leg, then a poorer one, and then another very good one. When he’s playing well, you have to hit back sometimes. I didn’t do that often enough.”
The PDC celebrated Doets’ victory on social media, posting: “DREAM DEBUT FOR DOETS! Kevin Doets dumps out four-time champion Michael van Gerwen to triumph on his European Championship bow!”
