MICHAEL VAN GERWEN has finally got joy and pleasure back on the oche – after his year of hell off it.
Mighty Mike, 36, is going through a messy divorce from wife Daphne – following 11 years of marriage – who is the mum of their two kids.
Daphne announced publicly in Dutch media during the recent PDC World Darts Championship that she was expecting a baby with a family pal.
Not only that, Van Gerwen’s dad has endured months of radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment to combat his cancer, and has even had his nose removed due to the illness.
It is no wonder Van Gerwen was quick to say goodbye to 2025 as his form dipped.
Yet in his first competition of 2026, the Dutchman returned to winning ways, beating Gian van Veen 8-6 in the final of the Bahrain Darts Masters on Friday.
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He will take home the lovely Golden Palm Trees statue, one of the nicest trophies in the sport.
And it will go some way to erasing what has been a painful and difficult year.
Van Gerwen said: “It was not the worst year possible – it was my worst year ever. Simple as that.
“Of course, you always want to win. I’m not coming here to Bahrain to not perform.
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“That’s the only thing I love about darts, playing on the big stages and winning tournaments. It’s the best feeling you can have.
“This gives you confidence. You don’t know how it’s going to set you up but it gives you definite confidence.
“It gives you joy. It gives you pleasure and from there on I think I can show a lot more.
“Sometimes when things don’t go your way, you need to keep believing in your ability. And that’s what I always do.
“Of course, I went through a rough period in my life but that’s the way it is.
“You need to make sure you keep being focused and I think that’s what I showed. Under any circumstances, I can do anything possible.
“The winning is still the same. Look at all the players who are attending here.
“All the top players are here, so they’re not coming here for a dinky-toy tournament. Of course, you want to win here.
“I’d never won this tournament before. The first time I was here, I lost the final. I was runner-up. So now I’m happy to win the big trophy.”
The Bahrain Darts Masters was halted for 10 minutes during the fourth quarter-final when there was a power failure in the venue.
In the end, event organisers were lucky the lights came back on and the throwing was able to continue.
Asked where he was when all this commotion happened, the three-time world darts champion said: “I was behind the stage laughing my head off.
“I was looking at where the CEO was because I think the steam came out of his ears. The generator blew, so what could they do?”