As the Premier League’s top four begins to take shape, Michael van Gerwen risks finishing outside of the play-offs for the second year running.
Van Gerwen made a barnstorming start to the tournament, securing a nightly win in Newcastle and reaching the final on night two.
But since being ruled out of the Premier League on night three through illness, the Green Machine has fallen apart, and his rivals have cashed in.
In fact, the only two points he’s collected in the previous four Thursdays came last week when Gian van Veen dropped out of the action.
Indeed, the 36-year-old has suffered four defeats on the bounce against Gerwyn Price, Luke Humphries, Jonny Clayton and Luke Littler, leaving him with work to do in the second half of the campaign.
Michael van Gerwen can alter Premier League form
As it stands, Van Gerwen is only one point behind fourth-place Humphries in a tightly congested Premier League table. It’s a position that won’t worry him at this early stage, but he would rather have a stronger grip on his destiny.
The three-time world champion will want to quickly end his recent losing streak, although a clash against Humphries in Berlin on Thursday is far from ideal.
HUMPHRIES WINS IN WIEZE! 🏆
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 22, 2026
Luke Humphries picks up his ninth European Tour title, as the world number two stops the Clayton fight back and beats The Ferret 8-6 in a brilliant final!
📺 https://t.co/YyBPPwoMK8#ET3 pic.twitter.com/9r0V335OiW
Humphries was magnificent during his Belgian Darts Open triumph over the weekend, and the 31-year-old has the second-highest average in the Premier League (100.82).
Cool Hand will now be eyeing his first nightly win of 2026 after being thrashed in last week’s semi-final against Price. However, Van Gerwen has the ability to stop him in his tracks.
The Dutchman performed exceptionally against Littler, despite losing 6-5 on night seven, having recorded a 98.9 average and 50% on the checkouts (5/10), which included a stunning 170 finish.
Van Gerwen didn’t do much wrong against the world No. 1; he was just outclassed in the decisive moments, and performing at a similar or even better level could land him a victory against Humphries.
Van Gerwen was outclassed by Humphries in Belgian Darts Open
The Belgian Darts Open brought unrelenting drama as Littler was knocked out by Niels Zonneveld, and Josh Rock was beaten by Kim Huybrechts.
Humphries, of course, was crowned champion after securing an 8-6 win against Clayton in the final after wiping the floor with Van Gerwen in the semi-final.
Van Gerwen couldn’t live with Humphries’ unrelenting treble-hitting power as Cool Hand averaged 105 to the Dutchman’s 93.38. He was also restricted to just five attempts at double across nine legs, which was telling of his opponent’s dominance.
At the bare minimum, Van Gerwen has to average ton-plus on Thursday night and hope Humphries has a poor night on the doubles, which has happened often in this tournament.
