January 5th 2025.
The recently concluded World Darts Championship final left Michael van Gerwen feeling disappointed and frustrated. His close friend and former UK Open finalist, Vincent van der Voort, revealed that the Dutchman was not happy with his performance in the match and was struggling to come to terms with it.
Although Luke Littler emerged victorious with a 7-3 win over MVG, things could have been different if the latter had started the game more confidently. Unfortunately, a series of missed doubles early on gave the teenager a 4-0 lead, which proved to be too much for Van Gerwen to overcome.
As the three-time world champion tried to make a comeback, Littler maintained his lead and eventually secured the win. Van der Voort shared that he had spoken to Van Gerwen after the final and the way he started the match was still weighing heavily on his mind.
The man who was once known for his quick throwing style, also known as Grease Lightening, believes that Van Gerwen will not be celebrating his second-place finish, as he has already reached the pinnacle of the sport multiple times before.
"Really, he starts so badly in the first four sets. That he cannot answer and is not there," Van der Voort said in an interview with the Darts Draait Door podcast, as reported by DartsNews. "He just finds that to himself incomprehensible and inexcusable at that point."
Despite the loss, Van Gerwen still congratulated Littler for his victory. However, it was evident that he was disappointed with his own performance, especially in the early stages of the match.
"When you get your chances especially early door, I came 4-0 behind, I thought I wasn't doing myself any justice then you need to try to fight and battle back," Van Gerwen shared in an interview with Sky Sports.
He acknowledged that Littler played exceptionally well and took advantage of every opportunity to score points and secure the win. "I think after 4-0 down I was definitely not the worst player out of us. But fair play to him, every chance he got, every moment he had to hurt me he did it," Van Gerwen said.
Despite the loss, Van Gerwen remains a three-time World Darts Championship title holder. However, Van der Voort believes that the experience of coming in second place will be different for him, compared to someone who has never won the championship before.
Contrary to Van der Voort's thoughts, Van Gerwen did mention some positive takeaways from his journey to the final at Alexandra Palace. He acknowledged that it had been a difficult year for him, and his performance had not been at its peak for some time.
"I had a lovely tournament, enjoyed every moment of this ride. We all know I've come from a far place, I've been battling my own game so far. But in the beginning of the game I was letting myself down too much. When you do that against a player with his ability and this performance then you're going to be in trouble. That's how it was," Van Gerwen shared.
He also expressed his admiration for Littler's performance and acknowledged that the latter deserved the win. However, he also admitted that it was a painful loss for him, but that's just a part of sports and he has to move on and continue to improve his game.
"I'm an old b***ard compared to him. It is what is is. I have to take this on the chin," Van Gerwen said.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
