Michael van Gerwen starts Gary Anderson war of words after Peter Wright feud | Other | Sport
Michael van Gerwen has started a war of words with Gary Anderson as the duo prepare to meet in the fourth round of the World Darts Championship. The pair have won five World Championship titles between them, with the Dutchman edging his rival by landing three of those.
Van Gerwen booked his place in the fourth round after thrashing Arno Merk 4-1 on Sunday evening. Anderson, meanwhile, secured his place in the last 16 after narrowly overcoming Jermaine Wattimena 4-3, with that match going to a final-set decider.
Earlier in the tournament, 55-year-old Anderson insisted he could continue to play darts until he’s 60. And after being asked about the Scot’s revelation on Sunday, Van Gerwen said: “Gary’s said so much c*** in his life, I don’t believe him anymore. He retires every year.”
Van Gerwen then heaped praise on his rival as he added: “To have Gary Anderson on tour is always a pleasure. He’s good for darts. The way he plays – he’s a phenomenal darts player.
“I expect a lot from that game because Gary’s playing some fantastic darts. Everyone’s saying the old Gary is back. He’s averaging 102, 103, I’m averaging about 99, 100 – so I think that’s a good sign for me.
“When you play Gary, there’s always room for fireworks. We always play good against each other, most of the time at least.
“The first time I played Gary was probably 22 or 23 years ago. We know exactly what we have to do to beat each other. We’ve had so many great battles, and I hope we’re going to have another one in two days’ time.
“If I can’t enjoy games like this anymore, that’s the day I’m going to retire, that’s the promise.”
Van Gerwen clashed with Peter Wright before Christmas after being told by the two-time champion that his eyesight is going.
After Wright had overcome Noa-Lynn van Leuven in his opening match, he stated: “I think their (the younger players) eyesight is better than ours. I think that’s about it.
“Obviously Gary (Anderson) is on the glasses or contacts. I don’t know if Michael’s wearing contacts at the moment, but I think MVG’s vision is probably going – but he won’t admit it at the moment.”
After hearing the comments, Van Gerwen hissed: “There’s nothing wrong with my eyes. Don’t worry. I keep getting compliments.”
And Van Gerwen then took the opportunity to go in hard on Wright after Snakebite had been dumped out of the World Championship by Arno Merk in the second round just before Christmas.
“I’m not really surprised by his performance because he’s been playing c*** lately,” explained the 36-year-old. “I think it’s time for him to retire anyway.”
