Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson are “nowhere near the players they used to be,” says a man who played with both of them in the Grand Slam. DartsRyan Joyce.

Van Gerwen was eliminated from the Grand Slam in the group stage after losing to Joyce on Tuesday night and Anderson in their previous match.

The Flying Scotsman was in fine form at Wolverhampton; He played with an average of 113.20 in Joyce’s 5-1 defeat and 105.19 in the 5-4 victory over Van Gerwen.

Joyce, who left the group with Anderson, says that although both men are now capable of performing at world-class levels, they have lost the fear factor.

‘I thought it was a really tough group on paper, but honestly Michael and Gary are nowhere near the players they used to be, even though Gary played like that against me!’ said Joyce.

‘They know they are not playing at the highest level. There’s no longer that fear factor for me.

‘I know I didn’t play well against Gry and he beat us easily, but I wasn’t nervous going into the match. That’s not why I played badly and lost. “He played extraordinarily well.”

Both men continued their glory years at the Grand Slam by reaching the knockout stages and Joyce says they are an inspiration to players who are not used to winning trophies.

‘It really helps, it helps all the other players,’ he said. ‘Guys like Ritchie and Mike who have done exceptionally well in those two majors lately, that’s a morale boost for everyone.’

‘I think everyone knows in the back of their mind that everyone is talented, but not everyone can prove it. ‘It gives everyone a huge boost to see some of the lower ranked players perform really well and have great success in the big leagues.’

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