Skip to content

World Darts Championship: Michael van Gerwen insists he has plenty more to give as he chases fourth title

Michael van Gerwen insists he had plenty more left in the tank after he continued his title bid with a battling 4-2 win over Brendan Dolan to reach the last 16 at Ally Pally; watch every session of the World Darts Championship up until January 3 - live on Sky Sports Darts

Monday 30 December 2024 17:17, UK

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Michael van Gerwen admits he's had a hard year and has a lot of work to do after defeating Brendan Dolan on Saturday night

Three-time champion Michael van Gerwen insists he has plenty more to give after chiselling out a 4-2 win over last year's quarter-finalist Brendan Dolan.

Dolan drew first blood in a competitive opening set, although Van Gerwen responded with a superb run of eight straight legs - including 129 and 149 combinations - to establish a 3-1 buffer.

'The History Maker' claimed a scrappy fifth set to reduce the arrears, only for the Dutchman to regain his poise in the closing stages to move through to a meeting against Gary Anderson's conqueror, Jeffrey de Graaf.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Van Gerwen nailed this impeccable 149 checkout during his win against Dolan

"I think the sport gets harder and harder. There's more money involved. There's more interviews," said Van Gerwen.

"Darts is getting bigger internationally, globally, around the world. So maintaining your form, keep doing the right thing for yourself is really important."

The Dutch ace feels Anderson put too much pressure on himself before suffering an early exit at this year's tournament.

'The Flying Scotsman' was outplayed by Dutch-born Swedish star De Graaf, who sent him crashing out of the tournament with a surprise 3-0 hammering.

Also See:

"We all know Gary had a good year on the Pro Tour but we also know he put too much pressure on his shoulders in the last few weeks by telling everyone he could have done it," said Van Gerwen. "But as long as you keep believing and doing the right thing for yourself, no one cares."

Instagram This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Instagram cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Instagram cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Instagram cookies for this session only.
Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once

Van Gerwen, who last lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy in 2019, says self-belief is the secret to going far at Ally Pally.

"As long as you stand by yourself anything is possible," he said. "To win this tournament you need to have some proper balls - everyone knows that. We're still so far away. We're only in the last 16 now so there is still a long way to go."

"Can you imagine if I do throw a 100 per cent good match? I know it's in there, only I have to show it."

He added: "Winning is the best medicine in the house. If you don't win, you need to go back to the doctors and get more medicine to win the game."

Monday, December 30
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

  • Kevin Doets vs Chris Dobey (15) R4
  • Callan Rydz vs Ricky Evans/Robert Owen
  • Ricardo Pietreczko vs Nathan Aspinall (12) R4

Evening Session (7pm)

  • Stephen Bunting (8) vs Luke Woodhouse (9) R4
  • Michael van Gerwen (3) vs Jeffrey de Graaf R4
  • Luke Littler (4) vs Ryan Joyce R4

Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports' dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.