Saudi Arabia Darts Masters star claims ‘I deserve a statue’ after winning 6-1 | Other | Sport

Michael van Gerwen has jokingly demanded a statue of himself is built in the garden of PDC chairman, Barry Hearn. The Green Machine was speaking at the inaugural Saudi Arabia Darts Masters, with Van Gerwen having won the first World Series event of 2026 in Bahrain over the weekend.

Van Gerwen continued his mini-resurgence with a strong showing in round one of the Saudi Masters, defeating Nitin Kumar 6-1 to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final against Stephen Bunting. It marked the first time the PDC had held a competitive event in Saudi Arabia, with Van Gerwen quizzed on his thoughts after the first day of action.

The Dutchman insisted it was good for the sport to sample different corners of the world, with Van Gerwen joking that his impact onthe World Series are worthy of a statue. He remarked: “I deserve a statue in Barry’s [Hearn] garden (laughing). No, I’m not going to give myself that credit, I just try to do what I love the most, playing on the stage. That’s what I try to do.”

The Saudi Masters was the 51st World Series event that Van Gerwen had competed in, with the three-time world champion reflecting fondly on his time on the circuit. He added: “If you ask me realistically, of course the world ranking tournaments are the most important, but for the global sport of darts, tournaments like these are really important.

“Back in the day I’ve played lots of times in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Dubai, Las Vegas, New York. You name it, I’ve been to all of them. Now we’re in this part of the world and I just go with it, wherever it is, you have to try and win the tournament.”

However, not all of his competitors were entirely convinced by the sport’s latest venture, with Nathan Aspinall questioning the legitimacy of some fans inside the arena. After his first-round win, Aspinall voiced his theory, saying: “I’m not stupid. I feel like they weren’t all there of their own accord, shall we say, and it was quite a small venue. But you’ve got to start somewhere. Everything needs to start somewhere.”

The action from the Middle Eastern nation continues on Tuesday, with all of the big hitters through to the second round, apart from Danny Noppert. He suffered a surprise shock to underdog Man Lok Leung, who has been rewarded with a tie against Aspinall.