MVG: I WON’T ADMIT LUKE IS BEST IN WORLD
25/11/2023 By Phil Lanning
MICHAEL van Gerwen vowed he will never admit that rival Luke Humphries is the best player in the world.
The three-time world champ hit a record 118.52 average in his Players Championship Finals win over Ross Smith in Minehead.
It was the fifth highest average in TV history but short of his record of 123.40 in the Premier League in February 2016. The previous Players Champs record of 112.05 was set by Dirk van Duijvenbode a year ago.
MVG, 34, then beat Mario Vandenbogaerde to reach Sunday’s quarter-finals.
He is on course to meet on-form Humphries in the final but he laughed off suggestions that ‘Cool Hand’ is the best player on the planet right now.
Van Gerwen said: “It would be a nice final I think. Luke is playing some fantastic darts, I want to also see if he can do it against me.
“I will never admit he’s the best player in the world, he still has to beat me first.
“I need to make sure I’m going to stop him but I need to stop everyone.”
After his incredible win over Smith, MVG struggled past the slow-throwing Vandenbogaerde. He added: “I know I can play well, it’s not a miracle or anything. He’s quite a slow player, he’s a nice man but also a bit boring.”
HUMPHRIES reached the quarters with a 10-7 win over RYAN SEARLE. He reacted to Van Gerwen and said: “My dream is to beat Michael in the final. I want to beat the best player in the world in the final, I still regard him as that.”
STEPHEN BUNTING booked his place in the last eight with a narrow 10-8 win over KIM HUYBRECHTS. DAMON HETA is also in the quarters after beating BRENDAN DOLAN by the same score.
Earlier in the day there were shock exits for GERWYN PRICE, smashed 6-1 by HUYBRECHTS plus ROB CROSS also crashed out 6-2 to LUKE WOODHOUSE. GARY ANDERSON was another big name loser, he went down 6-5 to DIMITRI VAN DEN BERGH.
Images by Taylor Lanning.
