MICHAEL VAN GERWEN has admitted he’s suffered a “disaster of a year” as the Dutch star heads to Ally Pally determined to flip the script on a season he’d rather forget.
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The World No.3 failed to qualify for the Players Championship Finals for the first time in his career and didn’t land a single ranked major, leaving fans wondering whether the three-time world champ had lost his edge.
But despite a turbulent year on and off the oche, the 36-year-old insists he’s ready to ignite once more when he kicks off his World Championship campaign against debutant Mitushiko Tatsunami.
Chasing his fourth world crown, Van Gerwen isn’t shy about the expectations he sets for himself.
He told talkSPORT: “I’m not stupid — I know this year I have had a disaster of a year. You have to take it on the chin and move on.
“Minimum I have to make the final. The Worlds is a different animal — different type of pressure, different kind of tournament and atmosphere. I have already done it.”
Away from the oche, Van Gerwen has been navigating major personal upheaval after announcing his divorce from wife Daphne, with whom he shares two children. At the same time, his father Henri has been undergoing cancer treatment — a battle that saw MVG briefly step away from the sport.
He added: “I also need to see how things are running at home with my kids because life has changed for me a little bit.”
Asked if this has been the toughest chapter of his life, he didn’t hesitate.
“Yes, 100 per cent, without a shadow of a doubt.
“My dad is OK and now he has seven weeks of radiotherapy and probably chemotherapy. After that hopefully everything is fine.
“They think that they have removed everything for the second time in 18 months.
“He had his operation just a few days before the Matchplay. It wasn’t the most ideal preparation for me. Sometimes things are more important in life.”
With all that swirling around him, Van Gerwen admits the mental reset isn’t complete just yet.
“Not yet. I’m in the middle of a divorce, I take my time sometimes with the kids.
“Everything is different now with me. I need to find a new routine.”