Mandatory task accomplished: The three-time darts champion Michael van Gerwen has reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in London.
In the Ally Pally, the 35-year-old Dutchman beat Swedish underdog Jeffrey de Graaf 4-2 and will face Englishman Callan Rydz in the round of the last eight. Van Gerwen is in the quarter-finals of the most important darts tournament for the eleventh time.
Van Gerwen appeared dominant at the start against the world number 81 and quickly converted his first set dart to make it 1-0. He then got an important break and continued to pull away.
In the third set, van Gerwen stumbled a little and de Graaf turned up the heat. The 34-year-old was finally able to make it 2-2. Despite his temporary low, van Gerwen finally recovered and converted his fourth match dart.
He won the World Cup for the first time in 2014 as the youngest player to date. This was followed by two more titles in 2017 and 2019. The last time he was in the final was two years ago, and last year he was eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Bunting doesn’t give Woodhouse a chance
In the first game of the evening session, Stephen Bunting had already won 4-0 against Luke Woodhouse in the English duel.
Now he has to face former world champion Peter Wright (Scotland), who knocked defending champion Luke Humphries out of the tournament on Sunday.