'LET HER PLAY'
Michael van Gerwen speaks out on ‘heartbreaking’ treatment of darts rival Noa-Lynn van Leuven then vows to ‘hurt her’
Humphries also backed the Dutch darts star
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN has backed Noa-Lynn van Leuven after stating that the controversial darts star has faced "heartbreaking" treatment.
But the Dutchman, 35, then vowed to "hurt her" when they face off in the Grand Slam of Darts group phase tonight in Wolves.
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Van Leuven will become the first trans player to play in a televised PDC tournament against men.
The 28-year-old was born male and underwent a transition in adolescence.
She is fully eligible to participate in female competitions under Darts Regulation Authority rules.
But not everyone supports her inclusion, with British star Deta Hedman, 64, withdrawing from matches against her in protest.
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But MVG has supported his compatriot as he feels the situation is "being blown up enormously".
The world No3 said: "'It's just heartbreaking. She does what she does and she can play terrific darts.
"Let her play nice. For me, there's never been a discussion, but I don't make the rules. The PDC has people who go over them.
"They can never make the right choice anyway. If they go left, people say they should go right and vice versa. Everyone has an opinion about it, but there is no point at all in continuing to argue."
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Van Leuven has described some of her female opponents as "toxic b******" because of their behaviour towards her.
MVG added: "People do ask for my opinion, but this is none of my business, is it? You have to let everyone have their own value. Where someone comes from?
Michael van Gerwen labels darts rival 'part timer' as he ramps up mind games ahead of European Championship showdown
"What difference does that make? Even if you're from Pluto. I don't understand why people get so angry about it."
In any case, MVG will not feel sorry for her come Saturday, after saying: "Are you crazy? I can't make mistakes. I have to be sharp and hurt her.
"In the end, they are all competitors and they all have to go at it.''
Athletes can compete in women's darts if their level of testosterone does not surpass 9.9mnol/L.
The world's best female player Beau Greaves, 20, will also play against Andries Noppert in the tournament on Saturday.
Earlier in May, Van Leuven and Greaves won PDC Women’s Series titles in Wigan — eight days the former beat male rivals in a mixed event.
The Dutchwoman has also qualified for the World Championship at Ally Pally in December.
She qualified based on her performances in the PDC's Women's Series.
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The slinger has continued to receive hostility when she has played on the rival World Darts Federation tour.
Meanwhile, world No1 and reigning world champ Luke Humphries also publicly backed Van Leuven after saying: "She's done nothing wrong".
Humphries, who begins his Grand Slam defence against Rowby-John Rodriguez said: "I don't get too involved in the politics.
"It's not up to me to say whether it is right or wrong. Whatever opinion I have, it wouldn't matter. I just look at her as a dart player.
"She is in the competition. She has not broken any rules. She is doing what she is allowed to do.
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"I can't say that she is doing anything wrong. I don't really know, it's a hard one, because there are so many different opinions that get thrown around.
"It would be nice if people let her get on with it and play. But, yeah, I wish her all the best. Hopefully she gets a win and it's good for her."
List of all-time Darts World Champions
BELOW is a list of Darts world champions by year.
The list does not include winners from the pre-Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era or BDO world champions.
That means Raymond van Barneveld, for example, is only listed once - Barney also won four BDO titles - and none of Eric Bristow's five BDO titles are included.
- 1994 - Dennis Priestley
- 1995 - Phil Taylor
- 1996 - Phil Taylor (2)
- 1997 - Phil Taylor (3)
- 1998 - Phil Taylor (4)
- 1999 - Phil Taylor (5)
- 2000 - Phil Taylor (6)
- 2001 - Phil Taylor (7)
- 2002 - Phil Taylor (8)
- 2003 - John Part
- 2004 - Phil Taylor (9)
- 2005 - Phil Taylor (10)
- 2006 - Phil Taylor (11)
- 2007 - Raymond van Barneveld
- 2008 - John Part (2)
- 2009 - Phil Taylor (12)
- 2010 - Phil Taylor (13)
- 2011 - Adrian Lewis
- 2012 - Adrian Lewis (2)
- 2013 - Phil Taylor (14)
- 2014 - Michael van Gerwen
- 2015 - Gary Anderson
- 2016 - Gary Anderson (2)
- 2017 - Michael van Gerwen (2)
- 2018 - Rob Cross
- 2019 - Michael van Gerwen (3)
- 2020 - Peter Wright
- 2021 - Gerwyn Price
- 2022 - Peter Wright (2)
- 2023 - Michael Smith
- 2024 - Luke Humphries
Most World Titles
- 14 - Phil Taylor
- 3 - Michael van Gerwen
- 2 - John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
- 1 - Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries
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