VAN GERWEN BRANDS OPPONENT PUB PLAYER AFTER WIN

RUTHLESS Michael van Gerwen branded his opponent a “pub player” after battling through to the Poland Masters quarter-finals.

World No. 3 Van Gerwen was far from impressed after scraping past Pero Ljubic 6-4 in Gliwice on Friday night.

Three-time world champion Van Gerwen looked in cruise control early doors, rattling off three straight legs and pinning a superb 108 checkout to lead 4-2.

But Ljubic stunned the Dutchman by reeling off consecutive 15-darters to keep things tense at 5-4 in the PreZero Arena.

‘Mighty Mike’ eventually sealed the deal by pinging in double 10 to set up a mouthwatering clash with Rob Cross at the World Series event.

47-times major winner Van Gerwen didn’t hold back in his brutal assessment of his oppositions level of ability.

He said: “It wasn’t a good game at all. Pero needs to be happy that he won one leg. Pero is not a good player. Pero is a pub player — we all know that.

“I’m not harsh — he is a lovely man but when you throw treble 12 for treble 20 then you need to go back to the dartboard.

“Did you ever see me do that? I can only blame myself, I didn’t play well.

“I’m the one to blame. But I made Pero look good today. Pero won a few legs and it feels like his birthday!

“I was going to win anyway. You want honest answers — I give you honest answers. Tomorrow is a different story — then I am up against the big boys.”

Van Gerwen revealed he was disappointed by the level of the local qualifiers too and reckons the Polish crowd still have a lot to learn about creating a raucous atmosphere.

He added: “I’m a bit disappointed with the qualifiers today to be fair if I am honest. If you see Pero and Kciuk, I know they can all play a lot better.

“They have tour cards and they disappointed me a little bit because if Pero was good he would have beaten me today because I was not playing well.

“They are still too quiet. They all have to visit Germany, Holland and England then they will see what a crowd really is. But when I play so bad there is nothing to cheer for.”