VAN GERWEN BLASTS PREMIER LEAGUE FORMAT

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN admits players are tired of the current Premier League format.

Mighty Mike finished sixth in the table and missed out on Finals Night for just the third time in his career.

Under the existing structure, the eight stars face each other repeatedly across 16 weeks, with nightly knockout tournaments deciding the winner each Thursday.

But Van Gerwen believes the packed arenas and huge viewing figures mean organisers are unlikely to alter the setup anytime soon.

He told the Darts Draait Door Podcast: “Gian (van Veen) played for the first time and even he says: ‘After a few weeks you’ve seen enough.’

“That says something about the format. We can talk about it forever; I don’t think they’ll change it anyway.

“There will always be talks, but I haven’t heard anything yet.

“The Premier League is sold out before the players are even known.”

Former pro and close friend Vincent van der Voort agreed that the commercial success of the event is the key reason nothing changes.

He said: “You have supporters, but I think there are more people against it than for it.

“Players are a bit done with it.”

Van Gerwen says he only has himself to blame after failing to make the play-offs.

The world No.4 won Night One of the competition and then finished runner-up on Night Two, making an excellent start to the weekly roadshow.

However, the three-time world champion’s form tailed off significantly in the latter stages of the campaign, failing to register a single match win from Night 13 onwards.

He said: “Whether you finish fifth or sixth… it’s all the same.

“I didn’t perform well enough for many weeks. Sometimes I sold myself short.

“That put unnecessary pressure on me. At some point you pay the price for that, it’s as simple as that.”

The Dutchman also pointed to the hectic darts schedule as a key factor behind his inconsistent form on the big stage.

He added: “It’s a mega-long season.

“It’s intense. You have to show up every week. Of course my focus is mainly on the ranking tournaments.

“Those are ultimately the most important tournaments.

“I’ve had several tournaments this year where I thought: how am I throwing this away again?

“Then you just make it incredibly difficult for yourself.”

“It has to do with flow, with confidence.

“Those are small differences that can ultimately lead to something very big.”

Van Gerwen has chosen to skip the upcoming Euro Tour event this weekend at the Baltic Sea Darts Open to spend time with his loved ones.

He said: “I’m going on holiday with my kids. Just a nice break together.

“Those kids just need the attention for a bit. So you have to make time for that.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.