Michael van Gerwen withdraws from Swiss Darts Trophy in last ditch bid to qualify for Players Championship Finals

Michael van Gerwen will not compete in the Swiss Darts Trophy in Basel next weekend, his good friend Vincent van der Voort confirmed in the new episode of the podcast Darts Draait Door.

The event in Switzerland is one of the tournaments on the Euro Tour calendar. Van Gerwen no longer needs this tournament to qualify for the European Championship. Because of his final victory earlier this year at the German Darts Grand Prix earlier this year, 'Mighty Mike' is already long and wide certain of participating in the European Darts Championship.

However, that does not apply to the Players Championship Finals, for which Van Gerwen still has a lot of work to do. Crucial is next week, when no less than three Players Championship tournaments will be played. The player from Vlijmen is currently number 103 on the Players Championship Order of Merit and needs to get in the top 64 to qualify for the final tournament in Minehead.

With seven tournaments remaining, Van Gerwen must make up a deficit of as much as 9500 pounds. The three-time world champion has played 12 of 27 Players Championship tournaments this season, eliminating no fewer than seven times in the first round and thus failing to pocket any prize money.

So the task is clear and Van Gerwen must perform in Leicester to be there at the Players Championship Finals in November. "That's where the focus is now. In those five more tournaments he is going to play, he has to make up that 10,000 pounds. Everything will have to give way for that," stated Van der Voort, who has spoken to Van Gerwen about his dire situation.

"With that intention he has to go (next week, ed.) to those three Pro Tours as well. Not that it's 'just' a floor tournament. There must be rock-solid performances now. So you can't be satisfied if you haven't almost made up that 10,000-pound deficit already," Van der Voort said.

Winning a Players Championship title would already help a lot for Van Gerwen. A tournament victory on the floor earns £15,000. With a final place, he picks up 10,000 pounds for the ranking.