What’s going on with Michael van Gerwen? Critics Question his mentality due to his form crisis, while the darts superstar Himelfe Appears Human and Speaks of Frustration. However, Giving Up is out of the questions.
It wasn’t too long ago that Michael van Gerwen stood alone at the top of the darts world. Now he’s not even in the Premier League playoffs.
“When you’ve been so good for so long, it must feel like pure torture,” his friend and compatriot Vincent van der Voort said in January when MvG was in a slump. In the meantime, the three-time world champion has arrived in a real crisis of form.
Michael van Gerwen Misses the Playoffs of the Darts Premier League
The darts dominator, who reigned unchallenged as number one from 2014 to 2021, is history – in the truest sense of the word.
This became clear at the end of April in Munich, when he triumphed at the German Darts Grand Prix including a 9-darter. In the past, that would have been commonplace, but now it’s something special.
Because it was van Gerwen’s first and only tournament victory this year, his reaction was correspondingly unusually emotional. “That means the world to me,” he said to Sport1. Tears came to his eyes during the award ceremony.
Is MVG Running Out of Motivation?
According to former darts professional Colin Lloyd, this is the case. In an interview with talk sport, he launched a general criticism of van Gerwen and raised the question of mentality: “After all he has achieved in this game: is he still that motivated?”
“He loves spending time with his wife and going on vacation with the kids,” Lloyd emphasized. “Have other priorities crept into his head?”
Although MvG continues to act confidently and verbally presents himself as the one to beat, he has not been practically for a long time.
Van Gerwen’s brilliance on the dartboard has only been seen “sporadically” lately. That’s why Lloyd added: “Has that little spark disappeared from Michael’s game?”
Van Gerwen Wants to Respond with performance
Van Gerwen won’t want to know about that. “I’ve had difficult phases in my life before, but I know what I’m capable of. If you continue to believe in yourself, the rest will come on its own,” the Dutch superstar recently explained to Online darts.
“I just have to respond with performance. That’s all that matters,” said the 36-year-old, emphasizing that he continues to work hard on himself: “Of course, it doesn’t always pay off immediately, but I’m doing my job. At some point it will show, I’m sure of that.”
MVG: “I’m only human”
However, he also revealed that the sporting crisis is not leaving him cold. “I’m only human. When you know what you can do and nothing comes of it, you get frustrated,” he let slip.
Nevertheless, one must also take into account how high his workload is, also due to his superstar status. “People don’t know what my schedule looks like,” said “Mighty Mike” and affirmed: “Maybe only Phil Taylor or now Luke Littler understand that a little bit. But nobody else.”