Click here to follow Ben Hudd (@benonsport) on Twitter.
Michael van Gerwen slammed Jose de Sousa’s unconventional approach in a bizarre interview following his third round victory at the Gibraltar Darts Trophy.
Van Gerwen reeled off three legs from 4-3 behind to overcome the Portuguese sensation and arrange a last eight meeting against Nathan Aspinall in a repeat of last weekend’s World Grand Prix final.
De Sousa had tried to convert an 80 combination checkout using two double tops with three darts in hand in the fifth leg, throwing both of his initial two attempts out of the board.
He still won that particular leg following multiple missed attempts on the outer ring from Van Gerwen, before the Dutchman upped the ante and prevailed with a 96.67 average compared to De Sousa’s 87.71.
“I think Jose’s a good player but he makes too many mistakes – he’s like a rookie if you know what I mean,” Van Gerwen told PDC Europe’s Philip Brzezinski afterwards.
“I think he’s more clever than that. Everyone was laughing about it at the beginning because his counting wasn’t that good. But now he does it on purpose and tries to be Mr Big Bollocks.
“I’m going to be the first one who’s said this but it’s about time someone put him in his place because he always walks around like he’s top stuff but he’s nothing.
“Sometimes tops-tops can be a good shot. Let’s say you’re on 105 and you throw single bull and then you go for tops-tops. He wants to make the show though and sometimes that doesn’t work, especially not against me.”
De Sousa, a former Grand Slam of Darts champion and winner on the European Tour, has become renowned for his unconventional finishes since gaining professional status almost four years ago.
His 120 checkout using three double tops during last year’s Premier League campaign is a memorable one, with the Lisbon-born thrower having attempted that same shot against Van Gerwen months beforehand.
