MICHAEL VAN GERWEN has sensationally accused former darts world champion Adrian Lewis by claiming “there is no bigger cheater than him”.
Mighty Mike and Jackpot had some thrilling matches over the years.
GettyMichael van Gerwen has claimed ‘there is no bigger cheater’ than rival Adrian Lewis[/caption]
GettyLewis has not competed on the darts circuit for personal reasons since spring 2023[/caption]
Van Gerwen, 35, managed to get the better of the Englishman over the course of their battles, but the Dutchman reckons no one comes close to him in terms of making it as “difficult as possible”.
Speaking to Sportnieuws.nl podcast Darts Draait Door, he said: “Honestly, Lewis has cheated all his life.
“There was no bigger cheater than him. You should ask Phil Taylor or Raymond van Barneveld the same thing.
“Lewis did nothing but talk behind you and stomp. He pulled out all the stops to take you out of your game.
“And then afterwards playing the murdered innocent, right? I’ve said it to him regularly.”
Lewis, 39, is a two-time world champion and four-time World Cup winner, but stepped away from the top of the game in April 2023.
This means he is set to lose his professional status in January after not competing.
Barry Hearn told SunSport that regardless of status in the game there could be no special favours in returning.
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However, Lewis hit back on social media, saying: “I’d never want any hand outs and I’d never ask for one.
“I’ve taken 21 months off the PDC circuit for my own personal reasons hence why I aren’t playing at this year’s world championships.
“Hope everyone enjoys the tournament and enjoys the festive period.”
However, Lewis has not retired and is set to play in amateur events next year.
He revealed: “Jason Thame asked me if I wanted to take part in the MODUS Series and I was a bit apprehensive but I told him that we’d give it a go next year.
“I’m going to do plenty of exhibitions and corporates with them and once I’ve done the series next year, I’ll see where I’m at with my game.
“If I’m enjoying it, then I’ll look to keep it going and go to Q School.”
Three-time world champion Van Gerwen starts his hunt for a fourth title on December 20 against the winner of James Hurrell and Jim Long.
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
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
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