Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen has criticized Peter Wright’s World Darts Championship claims as “nonsense” and labeled tournament favorite Luke Littler’s form “disappointing”.
Van Gerwen booked a quarter-final against Callan Rydz with a 4-2 win over Jeffrey de Graaf on Monday night, after which the world number three took aim at Wright’s claims that Rydz should be the favourite.
Rydz is unseeded but has two of the highest averages of the tournament so far. He scored 107.06 against Romeo Grbavac in his opening round and 105.31 in his 4-0 win over 11th seed Dimitri Van den Bergh in the third round.
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Van Gerwen roars with passion after reaching the quarter-finals with a 4-2 win over Jeffrey de Graaf.
“I want to play like Callan Rydz,” Wright said after knocking out defending champion Luke Humphries in the fourth round. “He will be a favorite for this tournament. He is playing great darts and I hope he can continue for a long time.”
This comes after Wright had already made headlines by saying he was “ready to upset Luke Littler” and “here to upset Luke Humphries.” He called out his “mind game” before losing to the two-time Alexandra Palace champion.
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Luke Humphries has hit back at Wright’s comments that the reigning champion will not even make it to the fourth round of the World Darts Championship.
“Every year at Worlds he says so much nonsense,” Van Gerwen said of Wright’s recent comments.
“He’s allowed to talk nonsense all the time. He’s not allowed to have opinions at home, so on tour no one takes him seriously.”
Van Gerwen said this when asked about his last quarter-final opponent: Rydz. sky sports: “I think he has the highest tournament average so far, so you can’t underestimate him.
“I think he’s playing fantastic darts, but we’ll see. It’s going to be five sets first. It’s a completely different game.”
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Rewatch Wright’s darts win and his emotional post-match interview after he beat defending champion Humphries to advance to the quarter-finals.
“If I play well, I don’t panic. If I stay focused and keep believing in my abilities, anything is possible. I’m not here to have fun, I’m here to win the tournament,” he added. , and we all know it.”
For Van Gerwen to win, he may have to meet the tournament favorite and last year’s runner-up Littler in the final.
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Highlights of the fourth round match between Luke Littler and Ryan Joyce at the World Darts Championship
The 17-year-old has twice averaged more than 100 points in the three matches through to the quarter-finals, including an impressive 103.13 to beat Ryan Joyce in the fourth round, although he went down to a final set decider.
His 4-3 win means Littler has dropped five sets so far through the tournament. That’s just one set less than the entire match leading up to last year’s final.
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John Part said Littler was not invincible at this year’s World Darts Championships.
“I think the most disappointed person so far is Luke Littler,” Van Gerwen added at a press conference before Littler beat Joyce. “A lot of people expect a lot from him and that’s why he’s not 100 percent.”
Asked about Van Gerwen’s comments after Littler confirmed his place in the last eight, where he will face 12th seed Nathan Aspinall, he said: “It might answer some questions, but I’m happy with the results and I’m happy with the power score.”
What’s next for the World Championship?
Play at the World Darts Championship resumes on New Year’s Day, with two semi-finals taking place in each of Wednesday’s two sessions.
The afternoon session sees Chris Dobey take on 2021 champion Gerwyn Price, while three-time winner Michael van Gerwen takes on Callan Rydz.
What promises to be a great evening session begins with two-time champion Peter Wright taking on Stephen Bunting, followed by Luke Littler taking on Nathan Aspinall.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live and exclusively until January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and other top sports with NOW.
