Michael van Gerwen says he has taken great inspiration and motivation from the success of ‘big friend’ Ronnie O’Sullivan, and he would love to match the Rocket’s record of seven world titles.
The 46-year-old won his seventh World Championship title on Monday night, the day after Van Gerwen added to his enormous collection of silverware at the Austrian Darts Open.
MVG is having a good season so far, sitting second in the Premier League table, while his triumph in Austria was his second on the European Tour this year.
The Dutchman is now inspired for even more glory this campaign after watching his pal O’Sullivan surge to glory in Sheffield.
‘I get a lot of inspiration from my big friend Ronnie O’Sullivan, so he did well and I finally managed to do well too,’ Van Gerwen told Sky Sports.
‘It gives me big motivation. He’s been doing it for so many years and of course I want to do it for a long time as well. It takes a lot of doing, but when you’re able and your head is right, you definitely can do it.
‘He’s been in the O2 before and to Ally Pally to watch me before. It’s great. He’s a huge ambassador, not only for snooker, but for sport around the world.’
While the Rocket picked up his seventh world title at the start of the week, MVG is on three World Darts Championship wins.
The Dutchman would love to match the Rocket’s tally, but he reckons that the darts world is more competitive than snooker at the moment, with the likes of Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton all vying for the top honours.
‘That would be nice, but it’s a bit too far away at the moment,’ said Van Gerwen. ‘I think there’s more competition in darts at the moment than snooker.
‘Of course there’s people that can beat Ronnie, but there’s not many.’
Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, Mark Selby, John Higgins and plenty more might disagree with that, but it was O’Sullivan who ruled the world at the Crucible this year.
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