Michael van Gerwen has vowed to win his fourth Unibet Premier League title this season, as he became the first player to guarantee their spot in the play-offs after picking up three points from his double-header in Manchester last week.
‘The Green Machine’ suffered back-to-back defeats in Rotterdam against Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld, but normal service was resumed for the world number one in Manchester, as he followed up a pulsating 6-6 draw against Daryl Gurney by thrashing Michael Smith 7-1 to register his first win in four league matches.
Van Gerwen is now three points clear at the Premier League summit with just two matches remaining, therefore he’s one win away from securing top spot in the table for the sixth consecutive season.
Nevertheless, the Dutchman has his sights firmly set on securing title glory at the O2 Arena on May 17th, as he bids to secure his third straight Premier League triumph. Unsurprisingly, ‘Mighty Mike’ is in confident mood, insisting: “I’m going to win this one {Premier League}.”
Van Gerwen added: “My focus is now on preparing for The O2 and, of course, I want to win every game. I think I performed well through the season even though I had a few slip-ups, but I’m happy to be in the semi-finals. I think I’m going to finish top of the league and hopefully I can do that by finishing the regular season with two wins.”
The world number one survived six match darts as he edged out Peter Wright in last year’s dramatic finale, but MvG is only concerned with lifting the title on May 17th. He said: “Even if the other players get close to me, it doesn’t matter how close they get. As long as I win, that’s the only thing that counts.”
Despite thrashing Smith 7-1 to move clear of second-placed ‘Bully Boy’ last week, Van Gerwen averaged 94.76- the first time in 38 Premier League matches that he has failed to register a ton-plus average. However, the two-time world champion insisted the result was all that mattered.
Speaking to the PDC last week, MvG admitted: “There was a lot of pressure on me but I felt good. I didn’t make a lot of mistakes and now I can focus on the O2. I believe in myself. I know what I can do because I’ve been top of the table for the last five years. I know I can be better but it doesn’t matter because I’m top of the table.”
Van Gerwen takes on world champion Rob Cross in Birmingham this Thursday, before his league season concludes with a clash against two-time Premier League winner Gary Anderson in Aberdeen. Can anybody deny MvG his fourth Premier League crown? We’ll soon find out!
Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/PDC
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