MICHAEL VAN GERWEN has been warned that his time at the top of darts is OVER amid worrying struggles.
The three-time world champion on the brink of missing the Premier League play-offs for just the second time in his career.
PAMichael van Gerwen has been warned that his time at the top of darts is over[/caption]
A loss in the quarter-final on night 15 last Thursday against to Nathan Aspinall – who won in Aberdeen – left Van Gerwen four points outside of the play-offs.
The Dutchman must win night 16 in the Premier League and hope Aspinall loses in the quarter-final if he is to seal an unlikely play-offs place.
Van Gerwen has also not won a PDC ranked televised event since November 2022 – at the Players Championship Finals in Minehead.
The 36-year-old had won at least one ranked TV event each year from 2012 to 2022 with the exception of 2021.
So the lack of success in recent years has caused concern for former player Colin Lloyd.
Lloyd, 51, told talkSPORT: “I think his race is run. With what he’s achieved in the game, is he that motivated anymore?
“He says he is. He says there’s plenty left it in him and that when he turns up, he’s still the man to beat and one of the best players in the world.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve got to say we haven’t seen Michael turn up for a while now. We’ve seen flashes of brilliance.
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“Has it slipped into his head he has other priorities? He loves spending time with the missus and the kids going on holiday.”
Lloyd, who retired in 2016, added: “Has that little bit of spark gone from Michael’s game?
“He’ll turn up and he’s got all the good intentions of how a champion is. You don’t turn up to make the numbers up, you turn up to win.”
But if Lloyd thought Van Gerwen would be stepping away from the oche any time soon, he’d be sorely mistaken.
Last December at the World Championships, Van Gerwen vowed to ‘be on the scene for a little bit longer’.
“If you look at my rankings this year, I’m still in the top four or five,” Van Gerwen said.
“Can you imagine when I play well again? I will be really dangerous.”
GettyColin Lloyd retired from darts in 2016[/caption]
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