Michael van Gerwen branded ‘largest mouth’ after World Cup exit

Michael van Gerwen has been mocked for a backstage comment he made before being knocked out of the World Cup of Darts.

The Dutch duo, consisting of Van Gerwen and Danny Noppert, were soundly beaten 8-2 by Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts, who put on an impressive display of scoring and finishing. The Belgian pair’s tumultuous relationship had been a talking point for the second consecutive World Cup before the tournament, but they have proven to be quite the team both on and off the stage in Frankfurt.

Both have had their fair share of defeats at the hands of three-time world champion Van Gerwen over the years. So they couldn’t resist taking a few jabs at MVG – who had made a confident pre-match comment – as they addressed the media together after their second-round victory.

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“I’ve never heard Michael be quiet,” revealed Huybrechts. “I didn’t hear him the whole game. Normally, he has the biggest mouth on the whole Pro Tour.

“We’ve both experienced that. He’s tried to bully us so many times. I heard Danny Noppert [known for being a quieter character] screaming more than Michael van Gerwen.”

Van den Bergh then added: “What did Michael say behind the stage? He was like, ‘This draw was meant to happen’. That’s what he said. I just looked at him. We played a phenomenal game and I’m so proud of what Belgium has just done against the Netherlands.”

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Huybrechts, who previously finished as runner-up with his brother Ronny back in 2013, added: “We didn’t give them a chance, we were in total control. I always say to Dimitri that if we do our own thing, we are very dangerous. Tonight was a complete performance.”

A semi-final match against Italy awaits Belgium, following Michele Turetta and Massimo Dalla Rosa’s sensational victory over 2022 champions Australia in an extraordinary last-leg decider. The Italian pair staved off six match darts in a tension-filled finale, resulting in Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock’s surprise exit at the last-16 stage, a first for their partnership.

In an elsewhere update, England executed a bold 8-3 annihilation of France, with world champion Luke Humphries off to a winning start in his World Cup debut. Humphries and Michael Smith will go up against Northern Ireland in the quarter-final round.