Michael van Gerwen has qualified for the last sixteen of the World Darts Championship in London with strong play. Sunday evening was the wrecking ball from Vlijmen in the third round much better than his German opponent Arno Merk, who was thrown off the board 4-1. A tough opponent awaits Van Gerwen in the next round.
Previously, Van Gerwen was the clear favorite in this match. His opponent Arno Merk is ranked 163 in the world, while the Dutch are in third place. Yet Merk eliminated Peter Wright in the previous round and so the green wrecking ball warned.
While Van Gerwen had a difficult time at the start of his matches in his earlier matches this tournament, the Vlijmen native now showed from the first arrow that there was nothing to gain for his German opponent.
Before you knew it it was standing MvG leading 2-0 in sets and giving his opponent only one leg. Van Gerwen continued the match with great concentration, during which he regularly uttered his characteristic shouts. Even though the three-time world champion threw well, it was his German opponent who took the third set, partly thanks to a 145 finish.
Merk got better and better in the match, but Van Gerwen was not fooled and continued to throw steadily throughout the match, during which his average was consistently around one hundred. This also happened in set four, which was won for Van Gerwen.
The following set was also a prey for Van Gerwen, which also meant the match ended with a final score of 4-1. It cost MvG little effort, who dealt with his opponent very quickly. He may have been able to save some strength, because he will need it in the next round.
Spicy opponent
In the next round, Van Gerwen meets Scot Gary Anderson. No stranger to it Mighty Mikebecause Van Gerwen won his second world title against Anderson in 2017. The Scottish number 12 in the world rankings narrowly passed fellow Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena in a thriller in the third round. The match between the two world champions is scheduled for Tuesday.
Interview ex-wife
Van Gerwen did not indicate that he was bothered by his ex-wife’s interview, which appeared this weekend. In it, his ex, Daphne Govers, said in conversation with Show news to having become pregnant by another man shortly after the divorce. “They couldn’t think of a movie script for what you did,” Van Gerwen then said, according to her. According to Daphne, they now have good contact again.