From Monday, Michael van Gerwen will return to the professional circuit at the Players Championship. But before that, a remarkable clip from a recent exhibition tournament has surfaced—showing that even the very best can occasionally slip up.
During the event, the Dutchman believed he had closed out a leg and erupted in his trademark celebration, interacting with the crowd. Yet, to his surprise, the referee’s familiar call of *“Game, shot”* never came. The reason: Van Gerwen had miscalculated.
When you first pick up darts, one of the steepest learning curves is the arithmetic. With practice, the calculations become second nature. Over time, players no longer need to think consciously about scoring routes—knowing instinctively how many points certain combinations produce.
Finishing is no different. Beginners must work out their options, but with experience, short finishes under 100 become ingrained, followed by the more complex checkouts above 100. Eventually, players not only recognize these finishes but also develop the ability to hit them consistently.
At the professional level, especially within the PDC, the arithmetic is so deeply embedded that players hardly have to calculate at all. Years of repetition mean they know countless combinations by heart.
Even Champions Make Mistakes
Nevertheless, even multiple world champions are not immune to errors. In the past, legends like Phil Taylor were sometimes seen leaving themselves on a non-checkout score like 166—but his dominance often meant he could afford such lapses. In today’s highly competitive game, that margin of error barely exists.
This time, it was Michael van Gerwen who fell victim. Believing he had won the leg, he let loose with a jubilant celebration. Yet, the scoreboard told a different story. While his dart found the intended target, something in his calculation had gone wrong—turning triumph into a moment of awkward humor.
A Reminder of Darts’ Human Side
For fans, the clip is both entertaining and refreshing. It shows that even the sport’s elite, with their immense precision and experience, are still human. And if a multiple world champion like Michael van Gerwen can miscount, then every amateur can feel a little better about their own occasional slip-ups at the oche.