Michael van Gerwen has revealed he lost £200,000 in prize money due to Covid after dropping down the rankings.Van Gerwen endured a dismal 2021, not helped by his enforced withdrawal from the PDC World Darts Championship after testing positive for Covid.
MVG pulled out of the tournament at the third round stage, meaning he only pocketed £25,000 in prize money. The Dutchman had reached the quarter-final stage or better in all bar one of the previous eight Ally Pally championships.
So he might reasonably have expected a deep run in the tournament and the prize money that would have come with it. A quarter-final appearance would have seen Van Gerwen take home £50,000, with £100,000 guaranteed in the semi-finals and a cool £200,000 secured by the runner-up.
Peter Wright, who won the tournament, took home the £500,000 top prize. But MVG had to make do with £25,000 - an amount which affected his PDC ranking.