Michael van Gerwen failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Darts World Cup. The native of Vlijmen lost 4-1 in the ‘Darts Classic’ to the Scottish Gary Anderson. Van Gerwen showed his desired level at times, but missed too many opportunities to strike.
All eyes in the fourth round were on this match: Michael van Gerwen against Gary Anderson. Two world champions who meet each other in the last sixteen, that doesn’t happen often at the Darts World Cup. Both gentlemen already know each other inside and out and have played several finals against each other.
The first set immediately showed what kind of match this could be: a very exciting one. The Scottish Anderson started the first set, but had one of his legs stolen by the Vlijmen native. And when Van Gerwen missed his first shot at the set, it was Anderson who struck and took the first set.
Deeper in trouble
The green wrecking ball was not fooled by the first set and both threw quite a few 180’s. The entire second set went with the arrows until 2-2 in legs. The last leg was started by Van Gerwen, but in that leg MvG had difficulty finding the triple. Anderson took advantage of this to make it 2-0.
And so there was work to be done for our Brabant friend, who has had a tough year. But he did not give in and put a strong third set on the board, with which the three-time world champion took his first set.
Where the tension increased, the level also increased. Both men had an average of well over a hundred and Anderson already recorded his tenth 180 in the third set and struck at the right moments. Van Gerwen missed three arrows on the double in his first leg and saw Gary Anderson, despite attempts to recover from MvG, continue to lead to 3-1 in sets. And so it almost took a miracle for Van Gerwen to win this match.
And the chance for that miracle came. With the score at 1-1 in legs, Anderson missed several darts on a double, something he hardly did earlier in the match. It was the ultimate opportunity for Van Gerwen to take advantage, but he failed to do so two innings in a row. After that, the focus was completely gone for the 36-year-old Dutchman and he missed several important arrows in the following leg. The 55-year-old Anderson once again took advantage and sent Van Gerwen back to Vlijmen 4-1 in sets.
It was not a bad match from Van Gerwen, but when he had to, the Dutchman let it go too often. His opponent Gary Anderson threw a lot more stable and thus booked a place in the quarter-finals.
No Brabant clash
So we don’t see a Brabant get-together in the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship. Andelse Gian van Veen still has a chance to win the first prize of one million pounds. He reached the quarter-finals on Tuesday at the expense of Englishman Charlie Manby.