Michael van Gerwen has set his sights on winning another world title at this year’s Darts World Championship despite a lean spell of form in which he has won one major tournament - this year’s World Series - since 2023.
This season Van Gerwen also failed to qualify for the Players Championship Finals for the first time in his career after withdrawing from the final three Players Championship events of the year and finishing outside of the top 64 on the Players Championship Order of Merit.
Runners-up results in the 2020, 2023 and 2025 World Championships mean he has been defeated in each of his last three finals and a turbulent personal life has seen him redirect his priorities since his victory in 2019.
Speaking in an interview with The Guardian, Van Gerwen opened up on how his focus on darts changed with the birth of his children and how the intervening years have seen him try to find some work-life balance.
“It has made me understand what’s most important in life,” Van Gerwen said. “It has to be family. Of course I love darts but I love my kids much more.
“My priorities changed 100%, straight away. I think it should... before that I could go practise whenever I liked and now I have to work around the kids to practise. That’s different.”
Van Gerwen also addressed his ‘painful’ drop on form but revealed that he has developed a new perspective to handle the next phase of his career.
“People don’t understand how painful it is. We all hate losing,” Van Gerwen said. “If you don’t mind losing you can’t be a great sportsman.”
He jokingly added: “The last few years I’m a little bit more used to it. I say keep being positive. I always think: ‘Don’t worry, my time will come again.’”
Van Gerwen also summed up his new mindset with a simple phrase: “If you don’t know how to lose, you never can be a great winner. Simple as that.”
To regain a world title after six years will be no easy feat and the 36-year-old knows he will more than likely need to beat teenage superstar and World No.1 Luke Littler at some point during the tournament.
Littler defeated Van Gerwen in last year’s final at Alexandra Palace when he was only 17-years-old.
Of Littler, Van Gerwen said: “He lives with his mum and everything is easy for him. He doesn’t have a family [of his own]. He has no responsibilities. Everything’s fine. But when you start to face real life then things are changing. You have to deal with new things in life then. It’s not going to be smooth for the rest of his life.”
Despite a tough year, both professionally and personally, Van Gerwen does not lack for confidence and still believes he can win a fourth world title.
“No one has to tell me,” he said, “I tell myself I’m going to win.”
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