Michael Van Gerwen insisted Peter Wright “talks c***” in a stunning blast.
The Dutch star hammered Snakebite after his fourth-round win over Jeffrey De Graaf set-up a quarter-final clash against Callan Rydz. Wright stated that the Geordie should be tournament favourite at this stage following his outstanding run so far at the Ally Pally. Asked about that, Van Gerwen started by saying: “I just heard another guy saying that, yeah.”
But when pressed on the comment from Wright, he let rip and continued: “Every year the worlds he talks so much nonsense. Peter Wright, yeah. He’s always allowed to talk c***. No-one takes him seriously on the tour as well because he’s not allowed an opinion at home as well. do you know what I mean?”
Van Gerwen’s volley did not detract the praise he had for Wright’s performance in his win over Luke Humphries. He said: “It is what it is. Two good players playing against each other, then, yeah, things like that can happen. I was surprised with the way how Peter Wright played. I think he played a dominant performance, really fair play to him.”
However, he added: “But this was coming from Luke Humphries. He wasn’t performing well all tournament. He couldn’t find the extra gear, so anyone who was going to play well against him would have beaten him.”
Van Gerwen is in bullish mood as he heads into the last-eight .Quizzed about whether he concentrates on destroying rivals or focusing on playing the board, he said: “Do you know what I’m concentrating on? To smash the bum. Because you need to make sure you keep winning your game.
“You can’t afford to lose, so you need to be mentally strong to whip them bum. Get them off the stage. Only can be one good player and that’s me, eh? Yes, yes, I have both.”
Van Gerwen is in determined mood. With 2024 ended, he gave a sarcastic reflection on his calendar year as he said: “Yeah, fantastic. What a year. Amazing. Four titles, phew. Takes some doing, eh?”
The focus is on a flying 2025 starting with a big show against Rydz as he chases the title. Van Gerwen was pleased with his show against Jeffrey De Graaf and said: “I was able to find an extra gear when I had to and I think that was really important.
“Not one gear, I had two gears. And I was comfortable. I was doing alright and I think that gives you energy and the good emotion. And from there, anything is possible. I think I was in control, especially most of the game. Otherwise you can’t produce sets like the fifth set.
“I was able to produce something extra when I had to and I think that’s that’s the key thing. When you’re playing well, when everything goes your way, when you’re living on that big mountain, everything is possible.
“But sometimes the mountain breaks underneath you and then it’s the moment you have to turn up and have to maintain your form. And I’m trying to climb back, try to keep doing the right thing for myself. That’s tough, but as long as you keep believing in your ability, anything is possible.”
Van Gerwen was stunned in the last-eight 12 months ago by Scott Williams and he’s heeded the warnings. He said: “You always need to know that there’s always something around the corner. So you always need to make sure you try to black them out, try to keep maintaining your good mentality and focus.
“Don’t underestimate Callan. I think he has the highest tournament average so far, so you can’t underestimate him. But I feel good. I feel comfortable. I think when you hit a 102 average. If that’s not a good level, I think then you have to look in the mirror. I think 102 over a format like this, I think that takes some doing. There’s more to come.”