Michael van Gerwen is facing the previously unthinkable prospect of needing a wildcard selection to make the next edition of the Premier League. The tungsten titan has been a regular fixture in the darting roadshow since winning the tournament on his debut in 2013, beating Phil Taylor in the final.

Overall, he has won the tournament a record seven times, one more than Taylor. The Dutchman has been an automatic selection since, courtesy of being ranked inside the world’s top four. Under the current format, the eight-player field is completed by four wildcard picks. While Van Gerwen is currently ranked third in the world, his defeat to Gary Anderson at the World Championship has made him vulnerable to dropping out of the top four. 

Jonny Clayton and Gian van Veen, ranked fourth and fifth respectively, will each climb above MVG if they win their quarter-final matches on New Year’s Day. Clayton will be the favourite to beat Ryan Searle, while European Championship winner Van Veen faces 2024 world champion Luke Humphries.

That would leave Van Gerwen relying on a wildcard selection for the Premier League, which from 2026 will boast an increased prize fund of £1.25million, with £350,000 going to the winner.

Given his standing in the game as a three-time world champion, Van Gerwen would almost certainly be picked as a wildcard. However, the fact he would even need one is sign of how far his star has fallen. He could also lose his long-held position of Dutch number one to Van Veen.

You have to go back three years to the last time the 36-year-old won a ranking title, the Players Championship Finals in 2022, although he won Premier League, a non-ranking event, the following year. His last world title came back in 2019.

Van Gerwen has shown flashes of his old brilliance in 2025, winning the non-ranking World Series Finals. However, he lacked the consistency of Humphries and Luke Littler before being well beaten by old rival Anderson, 4-1, at Alexandra Palace.

Van Gerwen has faced issues away from the oche this year, following his split from his wife and the mother of his two children, Daphne Govers, who recently announced she is expecting a baby with her new partner, just seven months after the end of her marriage.

Ahead of the World Championship, Van Gerwen called 2025 the worst year of his life. He is now striving to get back to his brilliant best in 2026. He said per NU.nl: “I know better than anyone that it’s going to be a very important year. I’m not running away from that. 

“I’ve never looked at the rankings and I don’t now either. It doesn’t interest me. I just have to perform. I’m going home tomorrow and will have some rest. After that, I’ll be throwing again in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain [in World Series events]. I’ll be doing that with renewed energy, because I know what I’m capable of.

“It hurts that I don’t always show it, but I won’t give up. Ever.” The Premier League line-up will be announced early in the New Year, with the opening night in Newcastle on February 5.