‘You don't know my schedule' rants Michael van Gerwen as he hits back at ‘lazy' jibes and reveals ‘rollercoaster' year

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN has hit out at claims he's lazy in a frank assessment of his downturn in form.
The Dutchman has endured a rough 2025 by his incredibly high standards.
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The 36-year-old has been incredibly inconsistent as of late, much to the surprise of darts fans worldwide
MVG's poor form has left him in danger of missing out the Premier League play-offs.
Critics have accused him of not putting in the hard graft to win tournaments, which Luke Humphries and Luke Littler are mopping up wth ease.
That notion has irked the former World No.1, who told Online Darts: 'I've been working and practising a lot. Of course, it doesn't always pay out, but I'm doing the work.
"What you have to do and what you want to put in and, of course, at some point it will pay out. I know that.
'Sometimes when you're too busy, people don't know my schedule.
"Maybe only Phil Taylor, maybe Luke Littler now, but no-one else my schedule in the last 13, 14, 15 years, so it's difficult for them to judge about it.
"They've never been in that position. I have to just answer with performances and it's the only thing I can do.
List of all-time Darts World Champions
BELOW is a list of darts world champions by year.
The list does not include winners from the pre-Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era or BDO world champions.
That means Raymond van Barneveld, for example, is only listed once - Barney also won four BDO titles - and none of Eric Bristow's five BDO titles are included.
1994 - Dennis Priestley
1995 - Phil Taylor
1996 - Phil Taylor (2)
1997 - Phil Taylor (3)
1998 - Phil Taylor (4)
1999 - Phil Taylor (5)
2000 - Phil Taylor (6)
2001 - Phil Taylor (7)
2002 - Phil Taylor (8)
2003 - John Part
2004 - Phil Taylor (9)
2005 - Phil Taylor (10)
2006 - Phil Taylor (11)
2007 - Raymond van Barneveld
2008 - John Part (2)
2009 - Phil Taylor (12)
2010 - Phil Taylor (13)
2011 - Adrian Lewis
2012 - Adrian Lewis (2)
2013 - Phil Taylor (14)
2014 - Michael van Gerwen
2015 - Gary Anderson
2016 - Gary Anderson (2)
2017 - Michael van Gerwen (2)
2018 - Rob Cross
2019 - Michael van Gerwen (3)
2020 - Peter Wright
2021 - Gerwyn Price
2022 - Peter Wright (2)
2023 - Michael Smith
2024 - Luke Humphries
2025 - Luke Littler
Most World Titles
14 - Phil Taylor
3 - Michael van Gerwen
2 - John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
1 - Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries, Luke Littler
'I've been in tough positions before as well, I had some other tough patches in my life, but you always survive. I know what I'm capable of.
"Believe in your own ability and then the rest will come automatically.
"You're going to have tough patches, but as long as you keep believing that everything is possible.
"And that's what I keep grab of and hold of, to make sure that's going to happen.
'It's like a big rollercoaster at the moment and things don't always go my way.
"Too many games, I have to battle too much and then you make it hard for yourself.
"I shouldn't put myself in that position, but sometimes that's the way how things go.
'I'm a human being as well and I know I'm capable of it, and then when you don't show it, you get frustrated, you get annoyed and you want to do better, but don't worry.
"I'm still going, and I still love what I do. You also need to look to reality. When you play poorly, you play poorly.
"You can have a big mouth, but you have to show it on the dartboard and that's the only thing I can do at the moment.'
Despite his recent trophy drought, Van Gerwen still believes he's among the best in the business.
He said: 'Of course, I say, when I'm on top of my game, I know I can beat anyone, probably be the best player in the world.
"But I don't show it enough at the moment and that's a question I have to answer myself to solve it and to make sure I'm going to turn it.
'When you're facing the past, your back [is] against the future and I want to face the future.
"I'm getting older. I've been in the game for a long time.
"I've played darts for more than 25 years now and sometimes it gets a bit harder. Then you need to try to invest more time into yourself.
"But I'm willing to do that and I feel good. I feel comfortable and I think there's more in the tank.
'I'll never look to someone else because you can keep looking, but it's not going to change anything.
"You have to change yourself and that's the only answer you can get.
"As long as I keep enjoying the game, from there on, anything is possible.'

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