Van Gerwen gives his first interview after dental surgery: ”Talking is a bit difficult, but that’s how it is”

Michael van Gerwen qualified for the second round of the Poland Darts Masters in Warsaw on Friday night by beating Adam Gawlas in the first round.

‘Mighty Mike’ started the match against the Czech Republic darts player with difficulty and even fell behind 3-1. After that, however, Van Gerwen rode five straight rounds to take the win.

“I think I did a good job,” he recalled in a conversation with Online Darts. “Of course it could have been better, especially at the start. Sometimes it goes like this, but in the end winning is the most important thing.”

It was the very first time that the PDC came to Poland for a tournament. Van Gerwen was impressed with the Polish fans in Warsaw. “I hope we will come back to Poland in the future. The fans were amazing on Friday. I think there is more to come, but we can be proud of it. Maybe a Euro Tour tournament can be held in Poland in the future.”

In June, Van Gerwen went under the knife for dental surgery. The three-time world champion has now received accolades. This should help speed recovery.

“It’s okay, but it could be better. Talking is a bit difficult, but that’s how it is. It doesn’t affect my game, but you keep thinking about it. I chose to do this operation because it was necessary. Now he has to recover and that takes time.”

The tournament in Poland is Van Gerwen’s last World Series tournament for now, as he will skip the World Series tournaments in New Zealand and Australia in August. And it was a conscious choice.

“It’s important for me and my family to spend time together. Last year my kids had six weeks vacation and during that time I was away for five weeks. I don’t want to do this anymore,” Van Gerwen says of why he’s not taking part in ‘Down Under’ this year.