In the final of the Darts World Cup 2025, Michael van Gerwen was virtually demonstrated by darts high-flyer Luke Littler for large parts of the game. Legend Phil Taylor sees a change in perception of the Dutch superstar and believes the 35-year-old has lost his “fear factor” among many of his rivals.
Record world champion Phil Taylor is seeing a massive change in the new generation of young darts stars, as he told “The Mirror”. “Young people today are fearless, almost disrespectful. They don’t care who you are or what you’ve done – they’re not afraid of anyone, you’re there to be beaten,” said the darts legend.
According to Taylor, this is particularly felt by the Dutch superstar Michael van Gerwen. “Michael used to intimidate his opponents and scare them to death. When they saw the green shirt they melted, but I think that fear factor is gone now,” the 64-year-old clarified.
Darts World Cup 2025: Michael van Gerwen “paralyzed with fear”
In the final of the 2025 Darts World Cup, the 35-year-old was outplayed by 17-year-old Luke Littler. Taylor believes van Gerwen lost his chance for his fourth World Cup title early on: “He had chances to win the first two sets, and when he didn’t take advantage of them, he was paralyzed with fear – and when it was 4-0 “The game was over.”
There’s no need to worry about the Dutchman after his performance against the English youngster. “It happens to all of us. Michael has been a fantastic player for a long time,” enthused Taylor about his former opponent, who fought bitter duels until the Englishman’s PDC retirement in 2018.
As a consolation for the massive defeat in the World Cup final, van Gerwen was at least able to look forward to an invitation to the extremely lucrative Premier League on Monday.
Source: www.sport.de
