The two-time title holder Gary Anderson threw Michael van Gerwen out of the tournament on the 17th evening of the World Darts Championship in London.
The two-time title holder Gary Anderson threw Michael van Gerwen out of the tournament on the 17th evening of the World Darts Championship in London. After the elimination, the Dutchman struggled with his quota for the double fields.
“The Flying Scotsman” clearly prevailed 4-1 against the three-time world champions from the Netherlands in a high-class round of 16. In 2017, the two darts greats faced each other in the World Cup final, and van Gerwen won. After the turn of the year, the Scot will meet the new crowd favorite Justin Hood from England.
Van Gerwen will miss out again after 2022 World Cup quarterfinals
Last year’s finalist van Gerwen missed the round of the top eight for the first time since the 2022 World Cup, when he was unable to play in his round of 16 match due to a corona infection. After his World Cup titles in 2014, 2017 and 2019, the Dutchman has to wait for his fourth triumph at Alexandra Palace.
In his title years, van Gerwen completely dominated the darts scene. After the clear defeat against Anderson, he is now even in danger of falling out of the top four in the world rankings. Anderson, World Cup champion in 2015 and 2016, got off to a strong start at Alexandra Palace and won the first two sets. Although van Gerwen hit back with a strong third round, Anderson subsequently took advantage of the three-time world champion’s numerous mistakes on the doubles.
German professionals share van Gerwen’s fate
After his win against German professional Arno Merk, van Gerwen criticized his compatriots who had complained about the high pressure: “You should be happy having interviews. The day no one wants an interview anymore…”said van Gerwen, ending his sentence with a whistle and a hand gesture intended to demonstrate a fall. “The more they talk about you, the more interviews you have, the more important you are”adds the Dutchman.
In terms of sport, van Gerwen made a clear judgment: “A country like Germany should have more players in the absolute top class. They have to go to the practice board”said the Dutchman with a grin and added ironically “You should train with me more often.” He would have time for that now.