We’re heading into the business end of the Premier League Darts season and the finals picture is starting to take shape.
We already know that Luke Littler will be heading to the O2 later this month, while Luke Humphries has also qualified for finals night.
The final two spaces at the O2 are still up for grabs as Nathan Aspinall and Michael van Gerwen desperately try to hold on to their positions.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of the Premier League (2/5/2024 7:10PM), Wayne Mardle has been discussing Van Gerwen’s Premier League campaign so far, and he’s made an interesting claim about the Dutchman.
Wayne Mardle says Michael van Gerwen has played horribly
Mardle gave his verdict on Van Gerwen’s performances this season.
“The quality of Michael, and he won’t thank me for this, is that he’s played horribly all the way through and he’s won four nights. Could any other player in this Premier League do that? I don’t think so. To win four nights is incredible.”
Michael Van Gerwen hasn’t been himself
Mardle is right, The Green Machine really hasn’t been himself this season.
We’ve grown accustom to Van Gerwen absolutely dominating the Premier League over the years.
The seven-time winner usually blitzes the competition on the big stage, but this year, he has looked vulnerable.
You could argue it is down to the increased standard of the competition after the debuts of Luke Humprhies and Luke Littler, but his underlying numbers are also rather poor.
Van Gerwen has hit fewer 140+ visits than any other player not named Peter Wright, while his overall average of 97.95 is even lower than his average during his disastrous 2020 Premier League campaign in which he finished sixth.
For one reason or another, Van Gerwen hasn’t been at the races this year, but with Mighty Mike still sitting in fourth-place, we still wouldn’t back against him going on to win the whole thing come finals night.