Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen has dropped out of the world’s top ten for the first time since 2012.The Dutch star‘s poor form continued at the European Championship, where he was knocked out in the first round by compatriot Kevin Doets.Van Gerwen has got into an unwanted habit of falling at the first hurdleHow has Van Gerwen performed of late?Van Gerwen, who won three World Championships between 2014 and 2019, has now lost his first match at six of the last seven tournaments he’s entered.The 37-year-old hasn’t claimed a major PDC title since winning the World Series of Darts Finals in September 2025.And he’s now slipped to number 13 in the world with the 2027 World Championship barely six weeks away.Van Gerwen reached the World Championship final two years ago, but was beaten by Luke Littler.He then went out to Gary Anderson in the fourth round last time around – his earliest exit for a decade (with the exception of 2022 when he had to withdraw with Covid).And 2026 has been a struggle for the player who was previously the world’s most dominant player.Nonetheless, Van Gerwen has stated his desire to add another World Championship crown before he retires.“I want to become world champion at least one more time,” he told Sportnieuws.nl recently. “But when you look at what I have already achieved, I could only have dreamed of that.”Elsewhere in the opening round of the 2026 European Championship, Littler got up and running with a 6-3 win over William O’Connor.The two-time reigning world champion has dominated the PDC circuit once again this year, winning five majors.Littler, by contrast, has looked his usual formidable self for most of 2026GettyAnd he’s looking to get his hands on the European Championship trophy for the first time.Gian van Veen is the current holder and began his title defence with a 6-4 victory against Andrew Gilding, before crashing out to Luke Woodhouse in Saturday’s afternoon session.Littler will be hoping to avoid a slip up against close friend Nathan Aspinall in the second round on Saturday evening.What’s next on the PDC calendar?Following the European Championship, there are two more major championships before the World Championship – which will be bigger than ever at its regular home, London’s Alexandra Palace.The first is the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.That’s followed later in November by the Players Championship Finals in Minehead.