Michael van Gerwen has claimed he is the "culprit" for his crushing PDC World Championship defeat to Gary Anderson on Tuesday. 'Mighty Mike' was thrashed 4-1 by Anderson in the last 16 at Alexandra Palace.

Despote averaging 99.81 - a tad more than his opponent - World No.3 Van Gerwen was beaten in comprehensive fashion with Anderson hitting three more 180s and producing a higher checkout rate.

The Dutchman had beaten Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, William O'Connor and Arno Merk to reach this stage of the tournament, but Anderson proved too much for the former three-time world champion.

"From the start of the match, I let myself down in key moments," Van Gerwen said post-match, according to NU.nl. "You can look at someone else, but in this defeat, I'm the culprit.

"I thought I was playing pretty well, but I had to put him in the right position. It should have been 2-2 in sets. I sold myself short. You might still lose if it's 2-2, but 4-1 really wasn't necessary."

Van Gerwen trailed 2-0 to Anderson before pulling one back and winning the third set, averaging a monstrous 116.51 and dominating the Scot. Despite hitting another plus ton average in the fourth set, Anderson upped his game and restored his two-set lead.

From that point, Van Gerwen's task looked a difficult one and he was unable to get back into the contest, with world No.14 Anderson claiming the fifth set to run out with a 4-1 win.

Van Gerwen has endured a mixed 2025. He won the World Series of Darts back in September following an impressive win against Luke Litter, but that is as good as it has gotten for 'Mighty Mike'.

He failed to qualify for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead last month following a disappointing season on the floor, after crashing out early at the World Grand Prix and the Grand Slam.

Looking ahead to 2026, Van Gerwen said: "I know better than anyone that it's going to be a very important year. I'm not running away from that. I've never looked at the rankings and I don't now either. It doesn't interest me. I just have to perform."

Van Gerwen added: "I'm going home tomorrow and will have some rest. After that, I'll be throwing again in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. I'll be doing that with renewed energy, because I know what I'm capable of.

"It hurts that I don't always show it, but I won't give up. Ever."

As for Anderson, 'the Flying Scotsman' is due to go up against Justin Hood in the quarter-final on New Year's Day. Should he win that game, he would face either Luke Humphries or Gian van Veen in the last four.