MICHAEL VAN GERWEN believes that his Unibet World Grand Prix triumph helped to silence his critics.
The Dutchman bounced back to winning ways in the PDC's Premier Ranking events by claiming the Dublin title on Saturday night with a 5-2 win over Peter Wright in the final.
Van Gerwen had missed out in the World Championship to Rob Cross and seen Gary Anderson scoop the UK Open and World Matchplay titles earlier this year.
Having also lost out in the Champions League of Darts semi-finals to Wright, the world number one was in determined mood throughout the World Grand Prix before walking away with his fourth title in the double-start event.
Wright held his own throughout the early stages of the final, but Van Gerwen took his first three sets in a deciding leg before pulling clear for victory.
"I was on a target," Van Gerwen admitted, speaking to the Darts Show podcast.
"People were writing things about me that I didn't like and I had to prove myself that I was still the best, and that's exactly what I did.
"The pressure was on me, the pressure is on me all the time and I did the right thing at the right moment.
"I'm not doing too bad, I can't really complain about my performance at the moment. I only can be happy and proud of myself.
"Even [when] I don't play my best game I know I'm still better than anyone. You need to keep believing in yourself, I always do. People can say whatever they want but I believe in myself and that's a very important thing."
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