Michael van Gerwen 'won’t get back to form by taking holidays,' warns Vincent van der Voort

Michael van Gerwen may be back from a relaxing holiday, but questions about his form still linger. The three-time world champion had a disappointing showing at the European Tour event in Sindelfingen last weekend. His close friend and former top player Vincent van der Voort didn’t hold back in his assessment.

Van Gerwen started the week on a reasonably positive note in the Premier League Darts event in Birmingham, where he reached the final and picked up valuable points. However, he struggled to maintain that momentum over the weekend. At the European Darts Grand Prix, he was knocked out early in a clash with Dirk van Duijvenbode — just weeks after winning the German Darts Grand Prix over the Easter weekend.

According to Van der Voort, Van Gerwen's inconsistency is becoming a recurring pattern. “Sometimes he plays really well, but then he can’t keep it up,” Van der Voort said on the latest episode of the podcast Darts Draait Door. His message for Van Gerwen was blunt: it’s time to put in the work.

“He’s going to have to train hard. He needs to put in the effort, or he’ll never find consistent form again,” Van der Voort said firmly. “You can’t just take a holiday and expect things to fall back into place. It doesn’t work like that.”

Despite reaching the final in Birmingham — where he lost to the young sensation Luke Littler — Van Gerwen did earn an extra Premier League point. “It wasn’t great, but it was okay. He did the right things at the right times,” Van der Voort acknowledged. “But the next few weeks will be very tough.”

The battle for a spot in the play-offs is heating up. Van Gerwen faces tough matches ahead against rivals like Nathan Aspinall and Gerwyn Price. And with his current run of erratic performances, that challenge is only growing.