Michael van Gerwen was completely unexpectedly eliminated from the Darts World Cup in London. The 34-year-old Dutchman surprisingly lost his quarter-final against England outsider Scott Williams 3:5 on Monday evening and will therefore not win the World Cup title for the fifth year in a row. Mighty Mike, as van Gerwen is called, had so far walked through the tournament and won eleven out of eleven possible sets in his first three games.
Even the dream semi-final against England’s Luke Humphries won’t work. Cool Hand Luke showed a strong performance in the clear 5-1 win against compatriot Dave Chisnall and will now face Williams in the round of the last four. Gabriel Clemens conqueror Chisnall had no chance in the duel.
Van Gerwen made a strange appearance at Alexandra Palace. The 2014, 2017 and 2019 world champion made a few mistakes on the doubles courts in the first sets. As the game progressed, the scoring became increasingly weaker. Van Gerwen often didn’t even hit the big single numbers. The defeat against the unseeded Williams was the logical consequence.
He caused a stir during the World Cup with a World War comparison, but has since apologized several times. Before van Gerwen, he had already defeated three other ranked professionals: Danny Noppert, Martin Schindler and Damon Heta. The semi-finals will take place on Tuesday (8.30 p.m./Sport1 and DAZN).
