VAN GERWEN SLAMMED FOR SKIPPING CRUCIAL RANKING EVENTS
04/06/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN has been told he is not doing things his closest ally “believes in” after skipping a series of crucial events.
Mighty Mike raised eyebrows by withdrawing from the Baltic Sea Darts Open and Players Championships 19 and 20
The world No.4 instead travelled to Ibiza with his two children for a family holiday.
MVG could potentially drop to 20th in the Order of Merit after the 2026/27 PDC World Championship, with huge prize money to defend from Ally Pally and World Matchplay final runs.
Former pro and close friend Vincent Van der Voort believes the decision was a missed opportunity for the three-time world champion to boost both his confidence and ranking earnings.
With several leading names absent from Kiel, only four players from the world’s top ten featured in the event – Gian van Veen, James Wade, Stephen Bunting and Danny Noppert.
He told the Darts Draait Door Podcast: “It’s not an isolated incident, but a structural problem that everyone just cancels.
“You’re basically watching a B-level tournament. Shouldn’t he have been here? If you look at this field, the chance is a bit bigger. “
Van der Voort reckons Van Gerwen should have swerved this weekend’s Nordic Darts Masters, a non-ranking World Series event.
He added: “But given his situation, shouldn’t he have withdrawn from next week’s event instead?
“Surely you just say you’re playing the Euro Tour and going away afterwards? But he was very steadfast and said he wanted to go on vacation with his children.
“He was very confident and resolute about it. He just said: I’m going on vacation with my kids that week.
“It is his career. If I were his manager, I would say that we weren’t going to do this.
“Then I would say that it doesn’t make much sense to continue like this.
“But I give him advice and help him where I can. As friends. Right now, he isn’t doing things that I say I believe in.
“It’s his career. Ultimately, he will be judged on his performance, not me.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
