Michael van Gerwen is delighted with his spectacular victory in the round of 16 of the Grand Slam of Darts. De Brabander collected a nine-dart finish in Wolverhampton on Thursday, but still won beautifully against Josh Rock.
Van Gerwen had to go deep against 21-year-old Rock, who averaged 103.93 per three arrows. Van Gerwen set an impressive average of 107.71 against that. “That is precisely why this victory is very satisfying,” said Van Gerwen Viaplay.
The three-time world champion knew in advance that he would have a hard time against Rock, who is regarded as one of the greatest talents in the darts world. ‘Rocky’ confirmed his status by throwing a magisterial nine-darter in the second leg.
“Hats off to that boy,” said 33-year-old Van Gerwen about his opponent from Northern Ireland. “He played a fantastic game and I needed something special to beat him. This is what you do it for as a darts player: to shine on the podium.”
“It gives me a very good feeling and I can build on this victory”, continued Van Gerwen. With the victory over Rock, he qualified for the quarterfinals. In it, the Brabant number three in the world will compete against Luke Humphries on Saturday.
Raymond van Barneveld is also in the quarterfinals in Wolverhampton. He beat Simon Whitlock on Wednesday and will meet Gerwyn Price in the last eight on Friday.
