[ad_1]
METERWith a troubled face, Michael van Gerwen left the world’s largest darts stage. Instead of taking a big step towards the coveted fourth world title, as he expected, he suffered the worst defeat of his World Cup career at 0: 5 against England’s Dave Chisnall. “I am completely devastated. I never got going tonight and was disappointed, ”wrote“ Mighty Mike ”Saturday night on Twitter.
Van Gerwen had already suffered a zero bankruptcy in the world’s biggest tournament – but in 2009 as a growing talent at the age of 19, when he lost 4-0 to England’s record world champion Phil Taylor. At that time the Dutchman was nobody in the darts scene. In 2021 it has been the undisputed top arrow for years.
Van Gerwen, now 31, has been at the top of the world darts rankings without a break since January 1, 2014, winning the most titles year after year. The balance of three global successes (2014, 2017, 2019) is almost modest. Following the surprising knockout of Chisnall, the dart giant in the striking bright green jersey is now even threatened with being replaced by Welshman Gerwyn Price, who could claim the top of the so-called Order of Merit with his first world title.
Van Gerwen was not stingy with self-criticism, but he also paid tribute to his rival “Chizzy,” who pulled off a phenomenal performance on New Year’s Eve. “It was the best game he ever did. He played well and I didn’t. I can only blame myself. I am deeply disappointed, ”said van Gerwen. The two professionals posed together for a photo after a memorable match. Chisnall, who is in the semifinals of the World Cup for the first time, praised his opponent as an “absolute gentleman”.
For van Gerwen, the end of the World Cup is the disappointing end of an extremely weak 2020 year. After Corona’s four-month hiatus, the Dutchman also dropped out of major European tournaments, World Matchplay and Premier League much earlier than usual. Darts expert Elmar Paulke called MvG “one of the crown losers” after the accumulation of early bankruptcies.
At the World Cup, van Gerwen now seemed to be in better shape again, shining in the opening rounds against Scotsman Ryan Murray (3: 1) and the two English Ricky Evans (4: 0) and Joe Cullen (4: 3) . In the duel with Chisnall van Gerwen he suddenly became the victim of a prominent opponent on the dart board. “I have to think about my game and find out what went wrong,” announced van Gerwen.
