The latest disappointment for Michael van Gerwen has consequences: The three-time world champion is temporarily setting aside his darts.
This decision is far-reaching: Michael van Gerwen is taking a break and will miss the Players Championship Finals for the first time, the last major tournament before the Darts World Championship.
After his loss in Players Championship 31 against English player Dom Taylor (4:6 in legs), van Gerwen left Wigan on Tuesday afternoon and announced he would skip the final three regular Players Championship tournaments.
Michael van Gerwen takes a break
Van Gerwen: “Need to clear my head”
“I need to clear my head and sort things out,” the 36-year-old is quoted in the medium Dagblad : “I notice that fatigue is also affecting me.”
Van Gerwen had previously won the Players Championship Finals seven times (most recently in 2022). This year, “Mighty Mike” will not be participating in the final tournament for the first time in his career.
Darts: Van Gerwen far behind in rankings
In the Players Championship rankings, van Gerwen currently sits at only 93rd place. Only the top 64 players qualify for the finals on November 23rd.
For the three-time PDC world champion (2014, 2017 and 2019), this is the next major disappointment following his crushing exit at the World Grand Prix.
Van Gerwen is also going through a difficult year for personal reasons: He and his current wife are divorcing, and his father is battling cancer.
With his victory at the World Series of Darts in mid-September – his first major success in two years – it seemed MvG had found his way back on track. However, as has now become clear, this cannot be considered a trend reversal.