Dubai This weekend’s Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters at Dubai Tennis Stadium gives defending champion Michael Van Gerwen the perfect chance to bounce back from defeat in last week’s Premier League Darts final.
The world No. 1 and current Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Champion lost 10-6 to fellow Dutchman Raymond Van Barneveld at London’s 02 Arena, last Thursday.
Despite still reeling from that shock loss, Van Gerwen, 25, concedes that there’s no better place to restore his damaged pride than in Dubai, where he beat Van Barneveld 11-7 to win last year’s inaugural title.
“Losing the Premier League final hurt a bit but I need to get over it,” said Van Gerwen on the sidelines of Wednesday’s draw, where the top eight players from the PDC Order of Merit were drawn ahead of Thursday’s quarter-finals.
“My confidence is maybe higher here than the other players because despite the conditions last year — playing outside and in breeze with hot weather — I still hit good averages. I handled it well and I’m looking comfortable to do it again this year.
“I’m quite confident on this stage. I was confident on the Premier League stage as well — I still am — but it’s just one of those things, you can’t win all the time. I’m quite a good loser and I can handle it. If you don’t know how to lose, you can’t win.”
Meanwhile, newly crowned Premier League champion Van Barneveld, 47, is looking to go one better in Dubai this year, buoyed by last week’s success.
“I’m in consistent form,” said the five times World Darts Champion. “I only lost three in 16 Premier League matches so I’m pretty confident, but there are seven other players here — the top eight in the world — and I don’t underestimate any-one.”
Elsewhere, record 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor from England is targeting victory in Dubai to make up for his shock first round exit here last year. “This is a tournament I’ve never won and I want to win everything before I retire,” said the 53-year-old. “I don’t normally keep trophies in the house but this one [The Coffee Pot] I would. It’s not like a normal trophy, it’s a piece of art.
“If I play properly of course I can win it,” he added. “I’m a lot more mentally stronger coming into it this time because I know what to expect.”
Asked what was left to do after winning 16 world titles and having dominated the sport for 24-years, Taylor revealed an ambitious bucket list starting with victory in Dubai.
“I’d love one more shot at the world title,” he said. “My target now is to get back to the World No. 1 spot and be world champion again and then push on and maybe try to clear the board again by winning every tournament in a whole year. It’s a bit greedy, I know, but I’d love to do that.”
