Michael van Gerwen sends world No 1 warning to Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price after Players Championship 8 win | Darts News

Van Gerwen claimed a second ranking title of 2022 in Sunday’s Players Championship 8, defeating Martin Schindler 8-4 in Germany; MVG on pursuit for world No 1 return: “I will be top soon, don’t worry!”

Michael van Gerwen issued a warning to world No 1 rivals Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price after continuing his impressive start to 2022 with Players Championship 8 victory in Germany.

Van Gerwen has started the year by winning back-to-back Cazoo Premier League nights in Exeter and Brighton, before narrowly missing out on a third on home soil in Rotterdam on Thursday.

The three-time world champion won the German Darts Championship title a fortnight ago, with Van Gerwen then defeating Martin Schindler 8-4 on Sunday to conclude the German-based ProTour weekend with a second ranking title of the year.

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Joe Cullen upset home favourite Michael van Gerwen, winning a final leg decider to triumph in Week 7 of the Premier League in Rotterdam.

“I will be top soon, don’t worry,” Van Gerwen said after Sunday’s success.”I’m still favourite with the bookies. People have their own opinion, but if I still play my game it’s still tough to beat me and they all know that. They don’t admit it but that’s how life is.”

Van Gerwen saw his seven-year spell as world No 1 ended in January 2021 when Price’s World Championship success moved him to the top of the rankings, with Wright then moving to world No 1 in January after claiming a second world title at the Alexandra Place.

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The Dutch crowd were in full voice for Michael van Gerwen’s entrance ahead of his quarter-final contest with Michael Smith.

The Dutchman had won 12 European Tour titles in 2018 and 2019 – each worth £25,000 in prize money – and saw just six events held during the past two years, before a positive Covid-19 test saw him eliminated from the 2021/22 World Championship when he was defending runner-up prize money of £200,000.

“Last year was, of course, a disaster for me,” Van Gerwen said. “If you look towards the ranking system, I lost £200,000 in my world ranking [at the World Championship] because of Covid, which you can’t do anything against.

“There was £250,000 probably in Euro Tours, so that’s £450,000 off the ranking that I couldn’t do anything against. So if you look towards that perspective, there’s not really a lot you can do – but I always want to aim for more, and I keep believing in myself.”

What next for Van Gerwen?

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Watch the best checkouts from Night Seven of Premier League Darts action in Rotterdam.

The year’s Players Championships continue next weekend with a treble-header from April 1-3 in Barnsley, with £300,000 in prize money on offer across the three days.

Van Gerwen tops the Premier League standings heading into night eight in Birmingham, live on Sky Sports this Thursday, where he will face James Wade. Price – winner of Players Championship 7 – takes on Cullen, with the winners of the two matches then meeting in the semi-finals.

Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts. We’re back for more Premier League action from Utilita Arena Birmingham on Thursday, March 31 from 7pm on Sky Sports Action.