Three-time champion Michael van Gerwen insists he has a lot more to give after carving with a 4-2 win over last year's quarter-finalist Brendan Dolan.
Dolan drew first blood in a competitive first set, although Van Gerwen hit back with a blistering run of eight straight legs – including 129 and 149 combinations – to establish a 3-1 buffer.
'The History Maker' claimed a weak fifth set to reduce the arrears, only for the Dutchman to regain his composure in the closing stages and move on to meet either Paolo Nebrida or Gary Anderson's conqueror Jeffrey de Graaf.
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Van Gerwen scored this flawless 149 checkout during his win against Dolan
Van Gerwen said: “I think the sport is getting harder and harder. There's more money involved. There's more interviews. Darts is getting bigger internationally, globally, worldwide. So keeping fit, keep doing the right thing for yourself is really important.”
The Dutch ace believes Anderson put too much pressure on himself before suffering an early exit from this year's tournament.
The 'Flying Scot' was outplayed by Dutch-born Swedish star De Graaf, who knocked him out of the tournament with a surprise 3-0 thrashing.
“We all know Gary has had a good year on the Pro Tour, but we also know he's put too much pressure on his shoulders over the last few weeks telling everyone he could do it,” Van Gerwen said. “But as long as you keep believing and doing the right thing for yourself, nobody cares.”
Van Gerwen, who last won the Sid Waddell Trophy in 2019, says self-belief is the secret to going far in the Ally Pally.
“As long as you stand with yourself, anything is possible,” he said. “To win this tournament you have to have some real balls – everyone knows that. We're still a long way off. We're only in the last 16, so there's still a long way to go.”
“Can you imagine me putting on a 100 percent good match? I know it's there, I just have to show it.”
He added: “Winning is the best medicine in the house. If you don't win, you have to go back to the doctors and get more medicine to win the game.”
Monday, December 30
Afternoon session (12:30 p.m.)
3x fourth round
Evening session (7pm)
3x fourth round
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