There are only a few occasions each year that the Netherlands get to host a PDC tournament.
One of those tournaments started on Friday, as the World Series of Darts began in Amsterdam.
Coincidentally, there were a couple of full Dutch matches on Day 1, but the Wessel Nijman/Michael van Gerwen match was by far the match of the night.
Van Gerwen picks up huge win over Nijman, advances to second round
Michael van Gerwen has had very few times in his career where he could just as easily drop a game as he could win it.
That's become the new reality for MVG at times in 2025.
After dealing with some physical/personal issues, he returned from a short break from darts earlier this year, but couldn't quite find the rhythm in his game that he was looking for.
Last weekend, we finally saw a glimpse of MVG rediscovering his vintage form, as he averaged 112.73 in a 6-0 win over Mike De Decker on the Euro Tour.
The consistency has been an issue, though, because the next game he averaged just 89.76, in a loss to Josh Rock.
Van Gerwen was back on the right track with a positive and gritty performance in the first round of the WSoD Finals, beating Wessel Nijman 6-5 in a thriller, requiring him to hit some do-or-die darts.
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Both players played excellently, and what won't be talked about as much is that Nijman lost despite playing nearly a perfect game.
Nijman was 5/6 on doubles, with his only miss on a double coming in a leg when he could have clinched the game if he had hit the double.
The clutchest part of the game by MVG was when he trailed 4-3. He was on throw, but needed to complete a 132 checkout to avoid losing the leg, which would have given Nijman the darts and potentially a 5-3 lead.
In vintage MVG fashion, he nailed the 132 with all the pressure on him, hitting 25-T19-BULL for a checkout that lifted the roof in Amsterdam.
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He went on to go down 5-4, but was given a chance to force a final leg, which he took and went on to win.
He immediately ran down the stage after his match to hug his daughter, who was in attendance.
The emotion MVG displayed on stage during Friday's game showed how much the win meant to him after struggling for the past several months.
In a post-game interview, Michael said, "I think this was one of my best performances in Holland for a long time, and that gives me a lot of joy" (via Josh Gorton/PDC).
Michael will now face Rob Cross on Saturday in a second-round match, as he looks to extend his tournament campaign in his home country
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