Darts Weekly: Van Gerwen's World Series success a much-needed breath of fresh air

Darts Now’s Connor Cain dives into Michael van Gerwen’s memorable World Series of Darts 2025 victory in his latest Darts Weekly column here at Odds Now.

After two years, Michael van Gerwen finally lifted another TV title by capturing the World Series of Darts Finals.

Incidentally, it was the same trophy he last hoisted on a big TV stage, and although it isn’t ranked, the victory will be a relief if nothing else.

Van Gerwen has had a torrid year in 2025 on and off the oche, with the only saving grace being a Euro Tour title he picked up in April.

He missed out on the Premier League play-offs for only the second time, and suffered early defeats in the Masters, UK Open and World Matchplay.

After 27 Players Championship events, he is 103rd in the order of merit - £9.5k off the top 64 with seven events remaining.

Failure to make up ground would mean he would miss the Players Championship Finals in Minehead for the first time since its inception.

The situation looked bleak for MVG last week as the players entered the busiest and most lucrative period on the calendar, but his title victory on Sunday has put the rest of the game’s top dogs back on notice.

Van Gerwen the first to beat Littler and Humphries in major win

The most impressive aspect of Van Gerwen’s title triumph was the manner of the victory.

In the opening two rounds, he survived match darts against both Wessel Nijman and Rob Cross whilst saving his skin with big combination finishes.

Against Cross, he checked out a 122 on the bull with ‘Voltage’ waiting on 60 for the match and then 111 in the decider with his opponent on a double.

His clutch finishing is shades of the old Van Gerwen in his pomp, proving that he’s still able to withstand the pressure cooker that darts creates in the biggest moments.

‘Mighty Mike’ then breezed past world number one Luke Humphries despite his recent horrendous record against the Premier League champion, before avenging his World Matchplay defeat to Josh Rock with another comprehensive victory.

In the final, he kept World Champion Luke Littler at bay before pinning a 130 checkout to sink the teenager and clinch glory.

History was made as Van Gerwen became the first man in history to lift a televised major by beating both Luke Humphries and Luke Littler.

A couple of weeks ago, I penned an article detailing how Van Gerwen would struggle to survive in Littler’s and Humphries’ world.

On Sunday night, I enjoyed a helping of humble pie – though in my defence, I did predict the 36-year-old would still pick up trophies.

Van Gerwen was clearly emotional after sealing the victory to end his barren spell with his young daughter Zoë watching on.

Perhaps it was a much-needed reminder to himself that the game is still there to thrive in a sport with more competition than ever.

Van Gerwen will be under no illusion despite ending trophy drought

The significance of lifting the World Series of Darts Finals for Van Gerwen cannot be understated.

Few had given him a chance of victory with his inconsistent form and struggles in major events this year.

He entered the tournament at a massive 20/1, was the outsider in his final three games played and only a marginal favourite in his opening two.

Seeing Van Gerwen pin the winning double almost injected a shot of nostalgia into the sport and broke up the monopoly created by Littler and Humphries, who had won all the sport’s majors since November 2024.

The three-time World Champion won’t overestimate his win however and knows that failure to have a strong run at the World Grand Prix in a couple of weeks will undo his good work.

The double-in tournament is the first of five ranking majors before the end of the year, which culminates in the first-ever £1 million World Championship.

For a man who was born to win, he must back up Sunday’s win with a strong showing at the end of the year.

In his prime, Van Gerwen was known for his relentless scoring, flawless treble 19 cover shooting and clutch checkouts to break opponents’ spirits.

In Amsterdam, he displayed all those attributes and needed them to dump out three of the pre-tournament favourites.

If he can sustain the level he showed at the weekend – something he’s struggled to do in recent years – then ‘The Green Machine’ could be on top of the sport once more.

MVG at his best is good for the sport

Any sport is hurt when one man dominates. Phil Taylor dominated for decades, but some of his most memorable matches were defeats, such as the World Championship finals to John Part and Raymond van Barneveld, respectively.

Tennis was captivated by Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal for years, with Andy Murray giving competition.

Formula One became less interesting when Max Verstappen hoovered up championships without a challenge.

The last two years have been the Littler/Humphries show, and whilst both have produced astonishing moments to captivate fans, a top-level Van Gerwen challenging them would add a further layer of excitement.

Even other dart players enjoy seeing the Dutchman showing his top level, with Littler expressing on social media how good it is to see him playing well.

The world number three is once again playing like the third-best player in the world, but the second most successful man in darts history will have his sights set higher.

If Van Gerwen can keep this run going, then the sport will benefit, and I’m already salivating at the three-way tug of war at the top of the game between himself, Littler and Humphries.

Combine that with exciting youngsters such as Rock, Nijman and Gian van Veen as well as resurgent champions such as James Wade, and darts is in a special and exciting place.