Michael van Gerwen is concentrating on a clear sweep of main titles this 12 months after including the World Grand Prix to his assortment.
The Dutchman held off a storming fightback from Nathan Aspinall to assert a 5-3 victory within the Leicester remaining and proceed his 2022 domination, having already received the Premier League and World Matchplay.
With the European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship to come back earlier than the World Championship in December, Van Gerwen has set his sights on filling his trophy cupboard up even additional.
And he has warned rivals Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright to up their video games in the event that they need to break his domination.
“If they want to win the tournaments of course they are going to have to pick up their game,” he mentioned.
“If I keep playing like this I am going to win every tournament, that is the only thing that matters for me.
“Gerwyn Price played phenomenally to the semi-finals, he didn’t do enough against Nathan. Peter Wright has such a big mouth for the whole tournament, he never turned up against me.
“If you want to win tournaments like this you have to make sure you focus on yourself. As long as the other guys have a big mouth, I just do my job.
“I have won the three biggest tournaments this year and from here on I think there is more to come. There is plenty more to fight for and if you keep battling like I am at the moment there is a lot more to come.
“Results says I am the best player in the world, they won some tournaments at the end of the year, that is why they are high up in the rankings.
“As soon as I take the World Championship I know I am number one and I am not going to give it away. But that is up to me, I have to do it in the World Championship, that is the most important tournament of the year, especially for the ranking.”
He appeared on target for a whitewash victory in opposition to Aspinall as he led 4-0 within the first-to-five remaining earlier than a battle with bathroom issues noticed him lose focus.
Aspinall fired off three successive units and had the darts to stage at 4-4, however Van Gerwen received over the road.
He added: “I wasn’t worried, I was looking for the toilet because I had some stomach problems. What can you do?
“At that point in the game you are hoping to make sure you keep your focus going, but it is not that easy. There are a lot of factors at play.
“I thought it was going to be a whitewash, but you have to bear in mind Nathan could come back. I am just glad I got over the line, that is all that matters to me.
“I did switch off, big time. But that is part of the game. It was regardless of what was happening in the match, I needed to have a s***, as simple as that.”
Aspinall was gracious in defeat, admitting that Van Gerwen had been the most effective participant.
“Michael this week has been amazing, he has been back to his best,” he mentioned in his on-stage interview.
“He is the deserved winner of the tournament this week. When I was 4-0 down I thought I’d win the next set and give him a bit of a game, I did that.
“He has been phenomenal all week, he is the deserved winner. But another final for me.”
Source: www.unbiased.co.uk
