Michael van Gerwen is set to return to the competitive scene three weeks ahead of World Matchplay at Blackpool, having confirmed his spot in the Netherlands Masters at Amsterdam this weekend as part of the World Series of Darts. Michael van Gerwen is a 4/1 second favourite to win the PDC World Darts Championship in 2022 for a fourth time, having won in 2014, 2017, and 2019.
Van Gerwen began playing darts when he was 13 years old. He won the 2006 World Masters then, at 17, fired a live nine-dart finish in the 2007 Masters of Darts, and became the youngest player to do so. Van Gerwen struggled for consistency following his initial explosion onto the darting scene until his breakout year in 2012. He rose from world number 38 in early 2012 to world number four in early 2013, winning his first major PDC championship at the World Grand Prix and reaching the final of the 2013 World Championship.
Van Gerwen returned to victory circles, winning his first World Series of Darts title in 2018 with an 11-4 victory over countryman Raymond van Barneveld at the Auckland Darts Masters Final. Van Gerwen retained his world grand Prix title by beating Dave Chisnall and won the championship for the first time, recovering from a three-leg deficit to beat Peter Wright 11-10. He followed this win over Raymond van Barneveld with an unbeaten 3-0 victory over the 13-time world champion Phil Taylor on the first night of the Masters of Darts.
Van Gerwen, the newly crowned Premier League champion, takes against UK Open winner Noppert in Friday night’s main event, as Van Gerwen returns from injury. On June 14, a day after winning the Premier League Darts, the Dutchman underwent surgery on his right arm. Van Gerwen, therefore, skipped the World Cup of Darts, and it was unclear if Mighty Mike would compete in the World Series competition in Amsterdam. Van Gerwen has now ended the uncertainty.
“I’m looking forward to returning to Amsterdam this weekend for the Dutch Darts Masters.” Today’s practice will be mild. Thank you for all of your words concerning my surgery; everything went really well,” he wrote on Twitter.
The 2022 Viaplay Dutch Darts Masters is the Professional Darts Corporation’s maiden staging of the tournament and the third participation in the 2022 World Series of Darts. The event will feature 16 players (eight PDC professionals and eight Dutch qualifiers) and will take place on June 24-25, 2022, at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
During the Dutch Darts Masters, eight PDC professionals will fight opposite eight Dutch players. Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price, and Fallon Sherrock are the participants. Danny Noppert, Dirk van Duijvenbode, and Vincent van der Voort will participate on behalf of the local qualifiers. The victor of this World Series competition will get a £20,000 check. The runner-up will earn a prize of 10,000 pounds. In any case, all sixteen contestants are guaranteed 1250 pounds in prize money.
