MICHAEL VAN GERWEN growled “that’s just not allowed” as he reflected on his latest World Darts Championship performance with disgust.
The three-time tournament winner is through to the fourth round after beating Brendan Dolan on Saturday.
Van Gerwen, who faces Jeffrey de Graaf tonight, lost the first set of his weekend darts clash.
But the world No3 soon roared back into a 3-1 lead, putting him on the verge of victory.
However, Dolan made Van Gerwen sweat for the win.
The Northern Irishman made it 3-2 as he pulled a leg back.
Dolan then needed just a bullseye to take the game to a final deciding set.
But he missed his throw, handing the opportunity back to Van Gerwen.
The Dutchman made no mistakes as he hit a double 8 to wrap things up.
And speaking afterwards, the former champ revealed he was unhappy with his performance.
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Van Gerwen said: “I wasn’t steady enough, it could have been better in a lot of areas.
“Especially set five… I don’t know what I was doing there, but that’s just not allowed.
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“My preparation didn’t go as well as I wanted. Then I left a lot of things out.
“Can you imagine if I do throw a 100 per cent good match? I know it’s in there.
“I have to show it. At phases I played a good match but here and there it can still be polished.”
Van Gerwen is now hoping to go all the way as he seeks his first WDC title since 2019 – and his fourth overall.
The ace added: “To win this tournament, you need to have some proper balls. Everyone knows that.
“As long as you keep standing close to yourself, anything is possible. Never underestimate me, simple.
“There’s a lot more pressure but that’s more to with how I’ve been performing in the last year.
“I’ve been putting pressure on my shoulders for the last 15 years but that’s the way I am, how I perform and like to play.
“Sometimes it didn’t really help in the last year, but that’s the way I play. I will never stop doing that.”
