Michael van Gerwen has struck fear into the souls of his fellow competitors with an incredible comeback in the World Matchplay final.
On Sunday, ‘The Green Machine’ lifted his third trophy at the Winter Gardens after a titanic battle with Gerwyn Price. The Dutchman struggled in the early stages of the game as he failed to hit doubles, and his opponent developed a handy lead.
MvG quickly found himself 4-0 down, and despite his incredible scoring power, he watched on as ‘The Iceman’ rocketed to a 10-7 advantage.
However, the darting legend’s belief never faltered. He eventually clawed his way back to 12-12, and timed his run to the finish line to perfection.
Similarly to his match-up against Dimitri van den Bergh in the semi-final, when it really mattered, Van Gerwen produced the form of his life. He won the game 18-14, and showed plenty of emotion after the match had ended.
It’s no secret that the darting icon has struggled, relative to his previous form, in recent years. He ended a long drought with a Premier League win earlier this year, and after adding another trophy to his collection, it’s clear that he’s well and truly back.
Michael van Gerwen delivers triumphant speech after World Matchplay win
Having undergone wrist surgery earlier this month, the rest of the field felt they had a decent shot of winning the major competition. But alas, MvG powered through and left them all in the dirt.
And with the all-time great back in form, the window to beat him has started to close. In his post-match interview, he admitted that knocking him out of any tournament now stands as an extremely tall order.
He said (quotes via Planet Sport): “It’s the best I’ve played for a while. I don’t want to be rude, but I’m in quite a dominant period at the moment.
“To win the Premier League, and now the Matchplay, gives me a great feeling. Of course, I wasn’t favourite for this tournament, but to produce something like this means the world to me.
“If you are going to look at performances this year, no one produces better darts than me. I’ve won two majors, the biggest majors this year. What more do you want?”
He continued: “I have done well, but I know there is more in the tank and that I can do better. I know that. I think they are fearful anyway. You know that. If you are going to look at how I played with the flair, I only think there is only room for improvement. I don’t want to say too much, but sometimes I like myself.
“After the World Championships and my first Premier League title, this is next. People at home don’t know how much this means to me. I have been going through a rough period, I constantly have to fight back, I have to battle against everyone. To win it against a player like Gerwyn is special.”
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