Michael van Gerwen in his match in the third round of the competition, he fulfilled his role as a favorite PDC World Darts Championships against Brendan Dolanbut it wasn’t easy at all. In the end, “Mighty Mike” had to give everything he had to avoid a deciding set.
Dolan won the first set, but Van Gerwen improved the situation, winning nine of the next ten games. This allowed the 35-year-old to go into the break after the fourth set with a 3-1 lead.
Van Gerwen was then unable to complete the match in the fifth set, allowing Dolan to reduce the gap to one set. The Irishman from Northern Ireland even had a chance to force the final set, but he squandered it. Van Gerwen then completed the task with a double 8.
The three-time world champion later realized that he could have made it much easier for himself in the match against Dolan. “I wasn’t stable enough, it could have been better in many areas,” the world’s third best player later commented in an interview with Viaplay.
Especially in the fifth set, the decline was huge. In the fourth set, Van Gerwen still had an average of 118.7. In the fifth set, that number dropped to just 84. This turned “Mighty Mike” bitter. “Especially set five… I don’t know what I did there, but it’s just not allowed.”
Van Gerwen then recovered in the sixth set, avoiding major problems. “My preparations didn’t go as well as I wanted,” he admitted. Van Gerwen believes much more is still possible in London. “After that, I left out a lot of things. Can you imagine if I play a 100% good match? I know it’s there, I just need to show it. In certain phases I played a good match, but here and there it can still be polished.”
