Michael van Gerwen has warned rivals Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright to up their games if they want to break his domination, while Wayne Mardle and Mark Webster claim his rivals need to stop riling the Dutch ace who will believe that he is the "top man" heading into the World Championship
Tuesday 11 October 2022 11:08, UK
Wayne Mardle believes Michael van Gerwen has "got to be careful of his expectations" but claims the Dutchman is "already favourite for the World Championship" after winning his sixth World Grand Prix crown in Leicester on Sunday.
The Dutchman held off a storming fightback from Nathan Aspinall to claim a 5-3 victory in the final and continue his 2022 domination, having already won the Premier League and World Matchplay.
With the European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship to come before the World Championship in December, Van Gerwen has set his sights on filling his trophy cabinet up even further.
"As soon as I take the World Championship I know I am number one and I am not going to give it away."
And he has warned rivals Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright to up their games if they want to break his domination.
"If they want to win the tournaments of course they are going to have to pick up their game," he said.
"If I keep playing like this I am going to win every tournament, that is the only thing that matters for me.
"Gerwyn Price played phenomenally to the semi-finals, he didn't do enough against Nathan. Peter Wright has such a big mouth for the whole tournament, he never turned up against me.
"If you want to win tournaments like this you have to make sure you focus on yourself. As long as the other guys have a big mouth, I just do my job."
Van Gerwen continued: "I have won the three biggest tournaments this year and from here on I think there is more to come. There is plenty more to fight for and if you keep battling like I am at the moment there is a lot more to come.
"Results say I am the best player in the world, they won some tournaments at the end of the year, that is why they are high up in the rankings.
"As soon as I take the World Championship I know I am number one and I am not going to give it away. But that is up to me, I have to do it in the World Championship, that is the most important tournament of the year, especially for the ranking."
Mardle has warned the Dutchman to be careful of his expectations as the season comes to a climax, but admits he is will be difficult to stop at Alexandra Palace.
"He's already favourite for the World Championship," claimed 'Hawaii 501'. "I think there's a funny dynamic happening… when he was winning everything, going into the World Championship he actually saw it was his to lose, not to win.
"I wonder if he's feeling that way again and putting pressure, extra pressure on himself to win it? He hasn't won it since 2019, that's a long time for Michael van Gerwen to go without a world title.
"He may feel that the pressure is building after winning the Premier League, the Matchplay, this. Maybe he's going to win the Grand Slam, the Players, European Championship… just list them all!! Who knows!?
"Then, going into the Worlds, if he feels that this is mine to lose that's so much pressure. He's got to be careful of his expectations."
Fellow analyst Mark Webster said: "I think he [MVG] just recovers from setbacks now. The setbacks still come but he just gets on with it and like Wayne says, he's favourite for the World Championship and I don't think we'll hear him say, like he did before the Gerwyn Price game in the World Matchplay, he's [opponent] is the favourite.
"He believes he's the top man now in the game now and who can argue against it?"
The former Lakeside champion added: "It might be worth these players keeping quiet now because Michael van Gerwen said he's riding the crest of a wave and he'll just continue in this form."
Aspinall was gracious in defeat, admitting that Van Gerwen had been the best player.
"Michael this week has been amazing, he has been back to his best," he said in his on-stage interview.
"He is the deserved winner of the tournament this week. When I was 4-0 down I thought I'd win the next set and give him a bit of a game, I did that.
"He has been phenomenal all week, he is the deserved winner. But another final for me."
We're back for the Grand Slam of Darts at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton from November 12-20 as the sport's biggest names battle it out for the iconic Eric Bristow Trophy - live on Sky Sports.
