- The Dutchman became the youngest to win a world title in 2014 aged just 24
- He then dominated darts for almost a decade adding two more World Champs
- Now at the age of 35 he has suffered a dip in form and not lifted a title all year
Darting legend Michael van Gerwen has revealed when he might call time on his career and vowed to improve his form ahead of next month’s World Championships.
The Dutchman is one of the sport’s all-time greats, scooping up three world titles, with his first coming at the age of just 24 in 2014 making him the youngest to lift the trophy.
That victory triggered an era of dominance for ‘MVG’ as he held his number one spot in the rankings until 2021, winning 44 premier Professional Darts Corportation Events (PDC).
An entertainer at the oche, he has hit 10 televised nine-darters and boasts the highest match average in televised darts history of 123.4, in a Premier League match against Michael Smith in 2016.
Van Gerwen has, however, suffered a slight dip in form of late, failing to win a major honour this year and losing six of his last 10 games. He last won a world title in 2019.
With the World Championships set to start on December 15, the 35-year-old has told Sky Sports he still has unfinished business at Alexandra Palace and will not hang up his darts just yet.
Michael van Gerwen has revealed he has no plans to retire until he wins more world titles
MVG last won the World Championships in 2019 and has been on a poor run of form this year
In 2024, he suffered a shock defeat to Englishman Scott Williams in the quarter-finals
He said: ‘I should have won one or two more, minimum.
‘But that’s the way it is and you have to deal with the circumstances.
‘I’m not going to stop before I win a couple more anyway.’
Van Gerwen also explained his barren season and promised to come out fighting at the World Championships in December.
‘I have under-performed this year, we don’t have to deny it,’ he said. ‘I didn’t do enough.
‘Of course, I could have won a couple more Euro Tours, the Premier League and the Matchplay I definitely should have won.
‘Now, it’s about how I answer that disappointment. I’ve been in more disappointing positions before and if anyone can answer this, it’s me.
‘One thing is, I never under-perform at the World Championship.’
Luke Humphries (right) beat teenage star Luke Littler (left) in last year’s final
The year prior, van Gerwen suffered more disappointment losing to Michael Smith
The 35-year-old will be hoping to bring back the glory days when he won his first title in 2014
Still ranked number three in the world despite his disappointing year, van Gerwen has earned a bye into the second round of the tournament, where he will face either Jim Long or James Hurrell.
Last time out, the Dutchman crashed out in the quarter-finals to wildcard Steve Williams, paving the way for the first all-English final four since 2006.
Teenage sensation Luke Littler was the star of the tournament, making it to the final where he lost to Luke Humphries despite being aged just 16, and he will be among the favourites this year.
In the 2023 World Championships, van Gerwen played out one of the best finals of all-time, narrowly losing out to Smith 7-4 in the final in a high-scoring match which saw one leg feature 17 perfect darts out of 18 from the pair.
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