Michael van Gerwen calls for major darts rule change after European Championship scare

Michael van Gerwen has urged the PDC to classify all tournaments as ranking events in the interests of fairness. The former world champion is currently in action at the European Championship, having survived a scare to reach the second round. He battled back from 4-2 down to beat Wessel Nijman in his opening match, before defeating Chris Dobey to reach the quarter-finals.

Van Gerwen recently won the World Series, securing a one-sided victory over Josh Rock in the final. It is not classed as a ranking tournament, meaning any prize money won by players does not contribute to their ranking on the Order of Merit. Van Gerwen, who is currently third, believes that is unfair and every tournament should hold equal weight.

Speaking after his win over Dobey, he said: "I can remember back in the day, Jonny Clayton won every non-ranked TV tournament so I don't look at things like that.

"I think every tournament should be ranked, especially this tournament. Whatever it is, if we look at golf, the Masters is ranked as well. Why should other tournaments not be ranked either?"

Much of the media attention is currently focused on Luke Littler, who will surpass Luke Humphries as the world's top-ranked player if he reaches the final of the European Championship.

Van Gerwen was quizzed on whether he felt like he was being overlooked and gave a typically assured response, saying: "No, but people can talk about me being under the radar.

"They all know I'm still capable of doing anything when I'm there. When I turn up, they know they've got problems. But I need to turn up a little bit more often, that's the only thing."

Reflecting on his victory over Dobey, he added: "I think it was an okay game. In patches I played well, but more importantly, I was stable. I was okay the whole game.

"I think I was in control, and that's also really important sometimes. Of course, to wipe someone off the board is nice, but to just be in control and work hard every leg, that sometimes helps you in the rest of the tournament.

"It's still a long way to go, we're only in the quarter-finals now. You need to make sure you keep your head and your momentum going. I'm feeling comfortable, but there's still a long way to go."

Van Gerwen will be hoping to maintain his current form against Daryl Gurney in the quarter-finals on Sunday.

"Tomorrow's going to be a really important day for me, I think for everyone in the quarter-finals," he said. "But I'm feeling good, and I need to make sure I show it again tomorrow."