Michael van Gerwen vs Mitsuhiko Tatsunami Preview & Prediction | 2025-26 PDC World Darts Championship | First Round
Michael van Gerwen was beaten by Luke Littler in last year’s final and the three-time world champion is back for his 19thconsecutive Ally Pally appearance, starting against Mitsuhiko Tatsunami in round one.
Start date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports / USA – Peacock
How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / USA – Peacock Premium
Michael van Gerwen vs Mitsuhiko Tatsunami prediction
Two of the last three World Darts Championships have seen Michael van Gerwen beaten in the final, first to Michael Smith before Luke Littler outclassed him last year, winning 7-3. You have to go back to the 2019 tournament when MVG last tasted victory in this competition, beating Smith 7-3 to lift the Sid Waddell trophy for a third time.
Currently ranked third in the world, Van Gerwen has a huge point of prove with so much attention on the likes of Littler and Luke Humphries. But perhaps being more of an underdog this year will play in his favour, although the Dutchman will be a huge favourite here. Mitsuhiko Tatsunami is the Steel Darts Japan champion and a winner of two PDC Asian Tour events this here.
But facing one of the best players on the planet at Ally Pally represents the tougher challenge of his career. Van Gerwen remains a truly elite player and should deal with Tatsunami fairly easily. Back him to not only win, but also hit the most 180s and take out a checkout higher than anything managed by Tatsunami over the course of this game.
Michael van Gerwen vs Mitsuhiko Tatsunami tip: Michael van Gerwen to win, hit the most 180s and record the highest checkout
