VAN GERWEN CALLS FOR WRIGHT TO RETIRE

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN claims Peter Wright has been playing “c***” and says the Scot should retire. 

‘Snakebite’ endured a miserable night at Ally Pally, averaging just 79.20 as he was swept aside 3–0 by world No.163 Arno Merk at the World Championship.

World No.3 Van Gerwen’s comments came just a week after Wright suggested the Dutchman’s “vision is probably going.” 

But MVG quickly put that claim to bed on the oche, producing an authoritative response by beating William O’Connor 3–1 to reach the third round. 

The three-time champion was then pressed for his thoughts on Wright’s display against Merk and gave a brutally honest response. 

He said: “You want me to answer this? I can answer this really easily. 

“No, I’m not really surprised by his performance because he’s been playing c**p lately and I think it’s time for him to retire, anyway.” 

‘Mighty Mike’ is determined not to suffer the same fate as Wright when he faces Merk with a place in the last 16 on the line. 

He added: “I think the biggest plus for me is the performance is going to rise, the first of four sets, but I think he did really well in his game against Peter Wright.  

“He was sharp, he was there when he had to be. So I need to make sure I’m concentrating on my own performance and I shouldn’t look to anyone else.” 

Van Gerwen produced a commanding display, averaging 100.20 and crashing in two superb ton-plus checkouts as he defeated O’Connor for a SEVENTH straight time. 

The 48-time major winner is on course to extend his remarkable run of reaching at least one televised premier event final every year on the PDC circuit since 2012. 

He continued: “I think I played well and also the way I got into this game. I was sharp, I was ready and I think that’s what you want.  

“You want to show also to yourself and also to everyone else that you’re capable of doing more.  

“I put a lot of effort in this match and I think from here on I can do some more damage. 

“I also played with a new system of Wimmau, the switch system. I think everything went well, everything came in place. 

“Of course, there was still room for improvement. I’m more critical of myself than anyone else, so no-one has to do that for me, but I felt good. 

“Of course, but what someone else [O’Connor] does in the first round doesn’t mean, with so many days in between, he’s also going to do that in the second round. 

“So I know what I’m capable of and I know I also got a little bit of a head start on him because I’ve beaten him a lot of times and he knows that as well.  

“But as long as you believe in your own ability, I can do anything.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.