MICHAEL van Gerwen has “lost his aggression” according to best mate Vincent van der Voort.
‘The Green Machine’ finished as runner-up at this year’s World Championship, but his performances in 2025 have been below par.
Michael van Gerwen has ‘Lost his aggression’ according Vincent van der Voort
Van der Voort has reacted to Van Gerwen’s poor 2025 after finishing runner-up at Ally Pally in January
World No.3 Van Gerwen was dumped out in his opening match at the Belgium Open last weekend, having won just one match at the UK Open the week prior.
Van Gerwen was battered 6-1 in the Premier League in Nottingham and was knocked out of the UK Open by world number 57 Rob Owen.
And the three-time world champion is still without a nightly victory in this year’s Premier League.
MVG has not reached the final of a tournament since his Ally Pally loss to Luke Littler.
According to Vincent van der Voort, a close friend and compatriot of Van Gerwen’s, the 35-year-old is lacking energy.
Van der Voort told the Darts Draait Door podcast: “He’s not stepping onto that stage with a do-or-die mentality anymore.
“There’s no aggression, no fire to show that he’s still the dominant force he once was. It all looks a bit routine, a bit obligatory.
“It’s about how you approach the game, the energy you bring. But Michael doesn’t seem to feel that himself.
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“That’s understandable—how you appear on TV and how you feel internally can be two very different things.
“That’s why I tell him: watch yourself back on TV. He used to be a bouncing ball of energy on stage.”
He added: “If there’s one thing he’s never been, it’s submissive. That really surprised me. There’s no aggression in his game anymore, and he needs that.
“He used to want to devour his opponents—I just don’t see that in him right now.”
‘The Dutch Destroyer’ did conclude by suggesting Van Gerwen’s drop in form could be down to issues that don’t necessarily present themselves first-hand.
He said: “You have to consider his family, the relentless schedule—it’s easy for us to sit back in a studio and comment.
“but he’s the one who has to go out there and do it. Talking about it is the easy part.”
Van Gerwen returns to action on Monday at the Players Championship Eight in Hildesheim, Germany.
List of all-time Darts World Champions
BELOW is a list of darts world champions by year.
The list does not include winners from the pre-Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era or BDO world champions.
That means Raymond van Barneveld, for example, is only listed once – Barney also won four BDO titles – and none of Eric Bristow’s five BDO titles are included.
1994 – Dennis Priestley
1995 – Phil Taylor
1996 – Phil Taylor (2)
1997 – Phil Taylor (3)
1998 – Phil Taylor (4)
1999 – Phil Taylor (5)
2000 – Phil Taylor (6)
2001 – Phil Taylor (7)
2002 – Phil Taylor (8)
2003 – John Part
2004 – Phil Taylor (9)
2005 – Phil Taylor (10)
2006 – Phil Taylor (11)
2007 – Raymond van Barneveld
2008 – John Part (2)
2009 – Phil Taylor (12)
2010 – Phil Taylor (13)
2011 – Adrian Lewis
2012 – Adrian Lewis (2)
2013 – Phil Taylor (14)
2014 – Michael van Gerwen
2015 – Gary Anderson
2016 – Gary Anderson (2)
2017 – Michael van Gerwen (2)
2018 – Rob Cross
2019 – Michael van Gerwen (3)
2020 – Peter Wright
2021 – Gerwyn Price
2022 – Peter Wright (2)
2023 – Michael Smith
2024 – Luke Humphries
2025 – Luke Littler
Most World Titles
14 – Phil Taylor
3 – Michael van Gerwen
2 – John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
1 – Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries, Luke Littler
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