MICHAEL VAN GERWEN was close to tears and admitted he played “c**p” after he avoided being the victim of the biggest upset ever at the World Darts Championship.
Mighty Mike said sayonara to Japanese veteran Mitsuhiko Tatsunami as he won 3-1 in round one but it was a very close call.
Michael van Gerwen threw his dart down on the floor after winning – but won’t face punishmentCredit: Sky Sports
The three-time champ was nearly upset by rookie Mitsuhiko TatsunamiCredit: PA
Van Gerwen, 36, was lucky that rookie Tatsunami, 52, missed multiple darts to take the clash into a fifth-set decider and he only averaged 90.82 across the four sets.
For the Dutchman, this was his worst-ever display on the Ally Paly stage.
And given that he had not lost in the first round for 15 years, it was no surprise he was emotional as he survived a huge scare at the end of a long and challenging year in his personal life.
Van Gerwen threw a dart into the deck at the finale in a moment of frustration but he will not receive any repercussions for that as the game was over by then.
Had the No.3 seed gone out of the tournament, it would have gone down as one of the greatest shocks of all time.
In darting terms, it would have been similar perhaps to the surprise moment Buster Douglas knocked out a prime Mike Tyson or even Leicester City winning the Premier League at odds of 5,000-1.
It comes at the end of a year in which he has started divorce proceedings with wife Daphne, the mother of his two kids, after 11 years of marriage.
The three-time world darts champion puffed out his cheeks in his on-stage interview and characteristically he did not pull any punches after the contest.
In an honest chat, he told Sky Sports’ Polly James: “It was really difficult. I don’t know what happened.
“I started off really c**p. My first dart constantly was underneath, above, underneath.
“I was trying constantly and nothing really worked. I feel good, but when you put yourself under so much pressure, it doesn’t make it any easier.
“It was not only the doubles, it was the triples as well and his finishing was great.
“I wasn’t afraid of his scoring, but when you score so bad and when you don’t do enough, what you’re capable of, then you’re going to annoy yourself.
“And then you have to deal with your own problems.
“But I kept battling my own battle in this game and I shouldn’t put myself in that position.
“I’m bigger than that. But on the other side, that’s darts as well.”
Tatsunami, just like the other underdogs in the tournament, had the full backing of the raucous Ally Pally punters, including former England footballer Peter Crouch.
The punters erupted in joy when the Asian thrower stunned the world No.3 to take the first set.
Van Gerwen had to cling on to stay in the battle before winning sets two – from two legs down – and three.
Had Tatsunami done better with his doubles, it could have gone the distance but on this day of thrills and spills, Van Gerwen avoided being booted out of the £1million tournament.
Van Gerwen said: “It’s not the first time. I lost sets to worse players than him on the stage, do you know what I mean?
“He’s not a bad player at all. He won the Japanese tour, not because he’s a bad dart player.
“So everyone’s thinking: ‘Ah, Michael’s going to whitewash him.’ That’s not how it works anymore.
“Darts is more globally and, if you look to all the Asian players, no-one is a bad player.
The Dutchman suffered his worst ever performance at Ally PallyCredit: Sky Sports
He eventually scraped by in the fourth set after Tatsunami nearly forced a deciderCredit: Sky Sports
“They’re all quite good players. So you always need to be sharp. But he made me work really hard for it.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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