DARTS STAR Pero Ljubic has defended rival Michael van Gerwen after the ex-world champ labelled him a “pub player”.
The outburst caused outrage in the media – but Ljubic has now come to the aid of his Dutch opponent.
GettyVan Gerwen appeared to slam his opponent following a nervy victory last week in Poland[/caption]
Instagram / @peroljubic78Croatian thrower Pero Ljubic does not hold a grudge against the Dutchman[/caption]
Van Gerwen’s insults included calling his opponent a “pub player” as well as saying “[Ljubic] won a few legs and it feels like his birthday”.
However – speaking to Polish darts outlet Okiem Darta – Ljubic downplayed the severity of Van Gerwen’s jibes.
The Croatian revealed that Van Gerwen apologised for his comments immediately – and asked people not to leap to conclusions.
He said: “Michael apologised to me straight away. We know each other well, and I know he meant no harm.
“Don’t be too quick to judge – emotions can take over in moments like that.”
Van Gerwen and Ljubic were drawn against each other in the Poland Darts Masters last week.
Van Gerwen – ranked third on the PDC Order of Merit – was expected to demolish his opponent, who sat 140 places below him in the rankings.
Instead, the three-time World Championship winner stumbled to just a shaky 6-4 victory, prompting his shocking post-match comments.
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Ljubic said: “He was just frustrated with his own performance.
“For me, what matters most is someone’s honesty – not what the internet says.”
Ljubic’s classy reaction even extended to paying his legendary opponent compliments.
He added: “During a later chat, he even gave me some motivation. He’s a genuinely decent guy and a top-class player.”
Instagram / @peroljubic78Ljubic holds a PDC Order of Merit ranking of 143, a full 140 spots behind Van Gerwen’s top three ranking[/caption]
GettyVan Gerwen is considered amongst the best to ever step up to the oche, and is the second most successful PDC darts player ever behind Phil Taylor.[/caption]
Van Gerwen was eventually knocked out of the tournament in the quarter-finals by Englishman Rob Cross.
Welsh star Gerwyn Price would take the silverware in the end however, narrowly beating Stephen Bunting 8-7 in a tense final.
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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