- Van Gerwen booked his place in the World Championship last eight on Monday
- The Dutchman responded to Wright’s claim Callan Rydz is tournament favourite
- Van Gerwen, the highest seed remaining, faces Rydz in the quarter-finals
Michael van Gerwen has taken aim at World Darts Championship rival Peter Wright, with the Dutchman slamming the veteran for talking ‘c**p at the tournament.
Van Gerwen slammed Wright in a press conference after booking his place in the quarter-finals at Alexandra Palace.
The three-time world champion beat Sweden’s Jeffrey de Graaf 4-2 on Monday night to set up a last eight tie against England’s Callan Rydz.
Wright has claimed that Rydz should be viewed as the favourite to with the World Championship, despite being the only unseeded player left in the draw.
‘I want to play like Callan Rydz,’ Wright said. ‘He’s just going up there enjoying himself and playing fantastic darts.
‘He should be favourite for this tournament. He’s playing superb darts and long may it carry on.’
Michael van Gerwen has slammed World Championship rival Peter Wright for talking ‘c**p’
Van Gerwen took aim at Wright following his claim Callan Rydz is the tournament favourite
Wright’s comment was put to Van Gerwen ahead of the Dutchman’s quarter-final with Rydz on New Year’s Day.
‘I just heard another guy saying that, yeah,’ Van Gerwen said.
‘Every year at the worlds he talks so much nonsense, you know what I mean.
‘He is always allowed to talk c**p, no-one takes him seriously on the tour because he’s not allowed an opinion at home as well.
‘Do you know what I mean?’
Van Gerwen is the highest ranked player left in the tournament, with the third seed setting his sights on a fourth triumph at Ally Pally.
Defending champion Luke Humphries and second seed Michael Smith both failed to make the last eight, with the former having been eliminated by an inspired Wright in the fourth round.
Despite taking aim at Wright for his comments, Van Gerwen praised the 54-year-old’s performance in his win over Humphries.
The three-time world champion is the highest seed remaining at the World Championships
Van Gerwen will face unseeded Rydz in the World Championship quarter-finals on Wednesday
‘It is what it is, two good players playing against each other, then, yeah, things like that can happen,’ Van Gerwen said.
‘I was surprised with the way how Peter Wright played. I think he played a dominant performance, really fair play to him.’
‘But this was coming from Luke Humphries. He wasn’t performing well all tournament.
‘He couldn’t find the extra gear, so anyone who was going to play well against him would have beaten him.’
