Michael van Gerwen takes £120,000 hit after being dumped out of World Grand Prix
World No. 3 Michael van Gerwen suffered defeat in his first fixture of the darts World Grand Prix on Tuesday, white-washed 2-0 by Daryl Gurney
Michael van Gerwen will be around £120,000 worse off in the PDC's Order of Merit after a humiliating loss at the World Grand Prix this week. The Dutchman, who is ranked third in the world based on two-year tournament earnings, was omitted from the competition 2-0 by Daryl Gurney, despite being tipped as a favourite to go all the way.
The six-time champion never made a mark at the oche against Gurney, failing to win a single leg of the game at all. It's the first time he has failed to do so in a televised ranking match for some 13 years.
Not just reputation at stake, Van Gerwen will find himself stripped of £120,000 in the Order of Merit courtesy of his early exit - as he won the competition two years ago thanks to a 5-3 win over Nathan Aspinall. MVG currently sits third in the rankings on a cool cash sum of £902,000, while Michael Smith is in second (£1,061,750) and Luke Humphries tops the list (£1,674,250).
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And while the loss doesn't do anything for his ranking immediately, it could be a huge setback going forward if he's unable to build momentum at the oche going forward. Elsewhere in the competition, Smith was bested 2-1 by Gary Anderson in the opening round, while Rob Cross ousted Luke Littler by the same score.
World No. 1 Humphries will have high hopes with a plethora of top-class competition already eliminated from the tournament, having beat Stephen Bunting 2-1 in his opening game on Monday. He faces Ricardo Pietreczko in the second round this evening.
Van Gerwen looked to be enjoying a stellar run of form towards the back end of September, having beat Gian van Veen to win the European Tour 11, and besting Dave Chisnall to take the Players Championship 21. However, giving a walkover to Jules van Dongen at the Players Championship 22 due to illness seems to have momentarily affected the Dutchman's game.
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Van Gerwen has also been faced with his fair share of fitness problems over the past couple of months, also undergoing a dental procedure which left him sore for his World Series victory over Jonny Clayton earlier in September. Speaking to De Telegraaf last month, the darts star said: "Anyone who's ever had root canal treatment and knows what that feels like, I can tell this is a little boy compared to what I went through.
"That really didn't feel good, but it has to be to keep it together. My lower jaw is searching and wants to go back to its old position. I had a severe underbite. A steak or a tough baguette, that's still a no go."
He is also set to undergo another operation next year which will hopefully fix a problem with his foot which causes pain when he wears shoes. With the World Darts Championship and the Players Championships Finals still to go before 2024 is out, Van Gerwen will have plenty of opportunity to make up for his loss at the World Grand Prix this week.
