VAN GERWEN UNDER FIRE OVER PROTOUR WITHDRAWAL
14/02/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN will suffer a major dip in form if he mismanages his schedule, according to ex-pro Matt Edgar.
‘Mighty Mike’ has withdrawn from the Players Championship Three and Four in Wigan next week.
World No.4 Van Gerwen has shown flashes of his best in recent weeks, making a ProTour semi-final and then a quarter-final.
The Dutchman tops the Premier League after following up his opening-night win with a run to the final in Antwerp.
But Edgar questioned why Van Gerwen is sticking rigidly to the same calendar that saw him miss out on Minehead last year.
He told OLBG: “For me, Van Gerwen is one of those people who has to have everything right. If he plays too much, we see his performance drop.
“If he doesn’t play enough, we see his performance drop. He is one of those who really has to manage his diary and calendar.
“What is interesting for me is that he is not going to the ProTours next week. He has got this form going, he is playing well.
“He did well on the ProTours this previous week, and he is not going to Wigan.
“That is interesting for me, the fact that he missed out on the Players Championship Finals last year.
“It was 2011 the last time he didn’t make a major tournament. Now he has gone, ‘I am going to play in the same amount of events as I did last year.
“I am not going to play any extra.’ You have just failed for the first time in 15 years and you go, ‘I am going to do the same thing.’”
Van Gerwen returns to action this Thursday in the Premier League and will face Luke Littler in a blockbuster clash at Glasgow.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
