Michael van Gerwen faces Jeffrey de Graaf in the fourth round of 2025 PDC World Darts Championships on Monday evening. This will be “Mighty Mike’s” third match at the tournament, having previously defeated James Hurrell (3-0) and Brendan Dolan (4-2).
Especially against Dolan, Van Gerwen had to work hard and narrowly avoided the deciding set. Vincent van der Voort he hopes that his good friend will finish the job against De Graaf faster. “I think everything is going well,” Van der Voort replied on the Darts Draait Door podcast when asked how Van Gerwen is currently doing in the tournament. “It was a great relief that he won because Dolan proved to be a difficult opponent. But he dealt with it and now he has to work at his level. Another step better. I hope he wins a little easier this time.”
Van der Voort then points to Peter Wrightwho seems to be getting better and better in the tournament. According to him, Van Gerwen should follow this example. “That’s the most important thing for me: for Michael to raise his level a little more. That he will do what Peter Wright does well: thrive in the tournament.”
De Graaf is an opponent not to be underestimated, although Van der Voort sees where Van Gerwen can make a difference. “He’s not someone who throws you off balance when it comes to scoring. But what you saw against Anderson: he takes advantage of every opportunity. If he manages to finish the ball… He almost throws them all away,” said Van der Voort. “So Michael will have to score to dominate him and not give him any chances.”
For De Graaf, this will be his first match in the final sixteen of the World Darts Championship. Earlier in the tournament, the Swedish Dutchman defeated Rashad Sweeting (3-1), Gary Anderson (3-0) and Paolo Nebrida (4-1).
