Michael van Gerwen has pointed the finger at himself following his 4-1 defeat to Gary Anderson in the last 16 of the PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace. The Dutchman, a three-time world champion, admitted he was the 'culprit' after being outclassed by the Scot.
Van Gerwen posted an average of 99.81, slightly higher than Anderson's, but was outshone by his opponent's superior checkout percentage and three more 180s. The world number three had beaten Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, William O'Connor and Arno Merk to reach this stage, but could not overcome Anderson.
'From the start of the match, I let myself down in key moments,' Van Gerwen said. 'You can look at someone else, but in this defeat, I'm the culprit. I thought I was playing pretty well, but I had to put him in the right position. It should have been 2-2 in sets. I sold myself short. You might still lose if it's 2-2, but 4-1 really wasn't necessary.'
Van Gerwen fought back to take the third set with a 116.51 average, but Anderson raised his level to regain a two-set lead and sealed victory in the fifth. The defeat adds to a mixed 2025 for Van Gerwen, who won the World Series of Darts in September but missed out on the Players Championship Finals and suffered early exits at the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam.
Looking ahead to 2026, Van Gerwen said: 'I know better than anyone that it's going to be a very important year. I'm not running away from that. I just have to perform.' He added that he would go home immediately and rest before competing in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Anderson, meanwhile, described the match as 'rotten' for both players and will face Justin Hood in the quarter-finals on New Year's Day.
