Michael van Gerwen launched a feisty attack on fellow World Darts Championship star Peter Wright following the Dutchman’s last-16 win over Jeffrey de Graaf.
It’s the ninth time in his last 10 Alexandra Palace appearances Van Gerwen has made the quarter-final of darts’ most prestigious event, as he prepares to dream of a fourth world title.
His hopes of achieving that were massively boosted on Sunday night when reigning champion Luke Humphries crashed out of the competition, throwing this year’s World Championship wide open in the process.
His victor? None other than Wright himself, who despite a troublesome year on the Tour, looked back to his best during a dominant 4-1 win.
However, Van Gerwen, who is on the opposite side of the draw to Wright, wasn’t up for congratulating the Scottish arrowsmith after he confirmed his spot in the last-eight.
Instead, Van Gerwen criticised Wright for ‘talking nonsense’ and claimed ‘nobody takes him seriously’.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, a ponderous Van Gerwen said: “Do I think about what Peter Wright says? Yeah, Peter Wright.
“Every year at the Worlds he talks so much nonsense, Peter Wright, he’s always allowed to talk crap. Nobody takes him seriously on the Tour as well, because he’s not allowed an opinion at home.”
A bold claim, but one Van Gerwen feels as if he’ll be able to back up with his darts should the pair come face-to-face in Friday’s final.
Commenting on his performance, Van Gerwen added: “I was able to find an extra gear when I had to and that was really important. If you purely look at the average and the way I played, there’s a lot possible and I would keep playing time after time but there’s still a lot of work to do this tournament.
“I think I was in control most of the game otherwise you can’t produce sets like the fifth set you know what I mean. I was able to produce something extra when I had to and that’s the key thing.”
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