Michael van Gerwen denkt dat hij het uitgooien van legs zal moeten gaan verbeteren om zijn derde titel te gaan pakken op het William Hill World Darts Championship.
Van Gerwen wist in 2018 maar liefst 19 PDC-titels te pakken, maar verloor de positie als regerend kampioen in zes TV-toernooien, waaronder de Grand Slam of Darts en de Players Championship Finals.
Dubbel twee-voudig wereldkampioen had zijn laatste toernooioverwinning in het Alexandra Palace in 2017, maar is erop gebrand om de pijnlijke herinnering van vorig jaar in de wedstrijd tegen Rob Cross te vergeten.
VAN GERWEN: "I've been a little bit unlucky lately but I have to finish better and I'm working on that,
I've not had my best year but I've still won more titles than every other player. I've not been at my best when you compare to some of the other recent years, and people expect a lot from me.
I've got high standards and I want to play well in every match. You can still win without averaging 100 but you have to play well now for a full tournament.
Last year I had a great tournament until that moment. Rob played well last year but I can only blame myself, things like that happen and normally I would never miss five match darts.
I know how it feels to lose and it's not nice. It hurts at that moment because you want to win it so much and hopefully this is my time."
Sinds dat van Gerwen in 2013 voor de eerste keer de finale van het WK haalde, dit was ook het jaar waarin hij 17 perfecte pijlen op rij wist te gooien, is het van Gerwen maar één keer niet gelukt om de halve finales van het toernooi te bereiken.
De nummer één van de wereld is de dominantste speler op het PDC-circuit over de afgelopen vijf jaar, en hij hoopt dit komend toernooi ook door te kunnen zetten.
VAN GERWEN: "It feels amazing to win the World Championship title, you work so hard for it all year and it's a phenomenal moment of completion,
I've won two but I want to win more and to do that I have to make sure that I'm ready. I know I'll be a big favourite and there will be pressure on me, so I have to perform.
People always play better against me than other players, maybe because there's no pressure on them so I have to play well and make sure I prepare well.
I've got a very hard draw because there are a lot of good players in my half of the draw, but that's what I like because if you want to win the World Championship then you have to beat all the players anyway.
It's always a special feeling going to Alexandra Palace, the fans play a huge part in that but I'm there to do a job, and that's winning my matches."
Eerder dit jaar kreeg Michael van Gerwen al een koninklijke onderscheiding.
De 29-jarige was de jongste persoon die de titel ridder in orde van Oranje-Nassau medaille kreeg uitgereikt van de burgemeester, namens de koning.
VAN GERWEN: "It is a big thing. I'm the youngest person to win it and it's nice that I can do that for the country,
I'm a proud Dutchman and I'm honoured because it's been a huge journey so far. It's strange to think when you're young how much you can do for the sport and for charities. It's a huge privilege to be Knighted."
© Foto's: Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) & Michael van Gerwen