Michael van Gerwen no longer threw the last darts of the evening on the dartboard, but on the floor. When his dart found the eight millimeter wide double field to win the Premier League, which is so important in darts, he literally threw his tools onto the Berlin stage – and tears suddenly welled up in his blue-grey eyes. Tears of joy, of relief.
With his mouth wide open, the Dutchman in the Mercedes-Benz Arena yelled out everything that had accumulated over the past two years, after a long period of wrangling, hesitation and the search for lost form. “I’m over the moon,” he announced on stage, so he was extremely happy with this result. “This title means a lot to me, I’m a happy man,” said van Gerwen, visibly touched.
He was also very satisfied with the atmosphere in Berlin and the fans present. “No one left early, everyone stayed. It’s breathtaking. The audience was sensational, Germany is ready for the finals,” said the winner, who couldn’t stop raving.
The darts fans in Berlin proved themselves worthy of the final: For the first time, the Premier League final took place outside of the United Kingdom.
(Photo: Monika Skolimowska/dpa)
A long ordeal ended for van Gerwen that evening, because the 33-year-old from Boxtel, a municipality in the south of the Netherlands, had until recently been the biggest number in his sport. He was world number one for seven years, and three-time world champion – but then came the break. He suddenly lost unusually often and slipped down to fifth in the world rankings, a no-go in the Dutchman’s self-image.
Van Gerwen’s last arrow lands in the heart of final opponent Cullen
The main reason: in 2020 van Gerwen changed the manufacturer of his darts, the shape changed, 23 grams became 21.5 grams. What may seem like an almost ridiculously small margin to laypeople is a significant difference in darts, at least at world-class level. So the long undisputed dominator suddenly became an average thrower. So it was recycled and tweaked until there is hardly any difference to its old form. After a disappointing 2021, without a major title, he has already won on the European Tour in the current calendar year, including on the Pro Tour, which is played without spectators.
And in Berlin, in front of the biggest audience of the year? There was Joe Cullen waiting in the final, the Englishman who had just equalized the record for most 180s in a Premier League match in the semifinals against top favorite Jonny “The Ferret” (the ferret) Clayton. Reaching the finals was a big deal for Cullen, and he was beaming even before the first darts were thrown there. He enjoyed the atmosphere in the German capital, for the first time the playoffs were played outside of the UK.
Cullen went into the final as an outsider, but never let himself be left behind, suddenly it was 7:7, later 10:10. One leg, 501 points decided victory in the Premier League and around 320,000 euros in prize money – and van Gerwen faltered. Cullen still had an arrow in his hand, it was his chance to be crowned champion right in his Premier League debut season. But he forgave. Anders van Gerwen: His arrow landed, relentlessly as in the old days, in the field of double 14 – and right in the heart of Joe Cullen, who buried his face in his palms. Van Gerwen, on the other hand, is now a six-time Premier League winner, beating the record of the sport’s greatest, Phil Taylor.
Well after midnight it was quiet after long media appointments and the usual frenzy of joy. And that was a good thing, after all, there was still an important appointment for Michael van Gerwen. The calendar called for surgery on Tuesday, carpal tunnel syndrome, a routine procedure on the throwing hand. Because van Gerwen has often felt a tingling sensation there in the past few months, and at times a feeling of numbness. But he never accepted that as an excuse.
