‘We bullied him,’ says ex-Grand Slam of Darts star in brilliant story about him and Van Gerwen facing referee at snooker
VINCENT VAN DER VOORT has revealed him and Michael van Gerwen once bullied a darts referee while playing snooker in Wolverhampton.
The West Midlands city has been hosting the biggest stars of the sport this week in the Grand Slam of Darts.
Van der Voort, 48, has appeared in the tournament on seven occasions but has not played there for 10 years.
Three-time champion Van Gerwen, 35, crashed out in the group stage after losing to Gary Anderson and Ryan Joyce.
And he may well have taken to the snooker halls following his exit – having done so with fellow Dutchman Van der Voort in the past.
On one occasion, they played against darts referee and announcer George Noble in what was described as a “junkie den”.
But the official received heaps of stick from Van der Voort and Van Gerwen after bringing along his own cue.
Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast, Van der Voort said: “Michael and I often went snooker during the tournament. In one of those snooker halls.
“Well, those tend to look really nice in the Netherlands. But where we were in Wolverhampton was really a sight to behold. Really such a junkie den.
“There was a friend of mine, who could still play reasonably, but Michael and I really can’t do anything.”
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Discussing Noble, he added: “He can play really well, had even brought his own cue.
“We bullied him so much, he just threw his cue away, that’s how angry he was.
“We made comments all the time, so he didn’t hit a ball anymore. He also lost to us. Then he just walked away.”
Van der Voort, who is planning to retire in the near-future, recently became embroiled in a spat with ex-PDC chairman Barry Hearn.
The 2007 UK Open finalist labelled Hearn a “terrible person,” before the Matchroom Sport founder responded by insisting he had “no idea” why Van der Voort was slamming him.
