That was a shock for the Darts World Cup: Superstar Michael van Gerwen tested positive for Corona and was eliminated. Now the end of the next player is known. The criticism of the organizers is increasing.
Even on the morning after his Corona-Aus at the Darts World Cup in London, Michael van Gerwen’s anger had not yet subsided – and his anger was clearly focused on the PDC world association. “It’s just a big corona bomb now. The controls weren’t strong enough, the PDC could have done more,” said the three-time world champion to the Dutch portal AD Sportwereld.
A few hours later, Gerwyn Price spoke up. The number one in the world pleaded for an early termination of the current Darts World Cup in London. “The tournament should be postponed,” wrote the 36-year-old world champion on Instagram.
“I was in that position myself, so I sympathize with the eliminated players. There is so much work to do before the World Cup,” said Price. The former rugby pro was struck out of the Premier League earlier this year because he tested positive for the virus before it started. Postponing the World Cup is probably not the best option, “but an option I would be fine with”.
PDC keeps a low profile
So far the PDC has not indicated that it will actually cancel the tournament. The association responded to van Gerwen’s allegations in a tight-lipped message: “We will not comment on individual players. We will continue to follow the government’s guidelines.”
In view of the more and more widespread Omikron variant in Great Britain, further failures until the end of the tournament on January 3rd are anything but unlikely. The next player was hit on Wednesday: Dave Chisnall.
The Englishman should actually have fought against Luke Humphries for the round of 16. Humphries is now in the round of 16 without a fight.
Has tested positive for the corona virus and is therefore eliminated from the Darts World Cup: the Briton Dave Chisnall. (Source: Pro Sports Image)
The TV pictures that are broadcast from “Ally Pally”, which is packed with 3,000 viewers every day, are indeed disturbing in view of the current pandemic situation – to put it mildly. The beer flows freely, and only a few visitors observe the mask requirement, which is only lifted at their own place.
For van Gerwen, the World Cup in London was over on Tuesday after a positive test. The 32-year-old was no longer allowed to play for his third round match against Chris Dobey from England. The symptom-free professional expressed himself desperately on Twitter: “I never expected my World Cup to end like this. But I will come back stronger.”
Is van Gerwen striking back harder?
That will also be necessary if “Mighty Mike” wants to get back to the top of the arrow throwers. Because the competition year almost ended did not go according to plan for van Gerwen – albeit at a high level. Back in January, Welshman Gerwyn Price replaced him after seven years at the top of the world rankings.
Also because van Gerwen could not win a major tournament for the first time since 2011, he has now dropped to third place behind Price and Scotsman Peter Wright. But what will probably stay with him for a long time is his current record of 79 wins at the PDC Pro Tour events.
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