2 days Ago By Daniel Hepburn
Three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen secured passage into the 2025 World Championship final after overseeing a 6-1 win against Chris Dobey and Sky Sports had to apologise for the Dutchman’s language in his post-match interview. Van Gerwen, who is nicknamed ‘The Green Machine’, will play against teenage prodigy Luke Littler tonight. He averaged north of 98 in his semi-final against Dobey and will be feeling confident with such a composed display on Thursday.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Van Gerwen boasts the highest number of PDC nine-dart finishes (24) in darts history. In good spirits after his semi-final victory, the 35-year-old was quizzed by Sky Sports about where, in the event that he overthrows Littler on Friday night, it would rank among his previous triumphs on the Alexandra Palace stage. “You are now a step closer; you last got your hands on the trophy in 2019.
But if you were to go all the way tomorrow night, where would it rank in your list of World Championship wins?” A man who can handle the pressure, as evidenced by his plethora of silverware over the years including seven Premier League titles, Van Gerwen insisted that he’ll only worry about adding a fourth Sid Waddell trophy to his repertoire on the day of the final. “That’s something to worry about tomorrow, I don’t care. I’m only in the final, I’ve won f***all yet.
So, I need to make sure I’m going to do it tomorrow.” Presenter Abigail Davies was forced to apologise to the viewers at home after Van Gerwen swore on live television by saying: “We are going to have to apologise for that language there.” Elsewhere, after insisting he didn’t want to get too carried away by thinking about the title that’s up for grabs, he exuded confidence ahead of his clash with Littler.
Albeit not as explosive as his quarter-final victory over Callan Rydz, Van Gerwen still believes in his quality. Darts is continuing to grow in popularity as a sport, so it's time to look back at the 10 greatest to ever throw an arrow. He said: “I can be happy with the performance.
Of course, I wasn’t playing as explosive as I was in the last game, but I was efficient. I’m here with a mission, with a target. This part of it [the doubling] will always have ups and downs, but today I showed I think, a lot of mentality.
” “To win on this stage, in a semi-final, means a lot to me. But what I always say – we are not even close yet. I still have to battle tomorrow; it’s going to be another day.
And the title’s still fat away. I don’t want to make mistakes.” Van Gerwen is a name synonymous with darts and after a career spanning 17 years, one that has seen many records left in ruins at his feet, he’s still one of the biggest names on the PDC circuit – and Littler, 17, will have to be at his very best to beat him.
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