You know it's Christmas when the PDC World Championship rolls around. The tournament kicks off tomorrow evening in London. Michael Van Gerwen is the heavy 4/6 favourite with Ladbrokes to lift his second Sid Waddell Trophy at the Alexandra Palace. He starts his campaign on Saturday evening.
He's been the world number one for almost three years, won 25 titles in 2016 which totaled over £1.5 million pounds in prize money. He broke record after record, including the highest ever average on TV at 123.40.
Think about that for a second. Every time he went to the board, he hit at least two treble 20's. When your target is the size of a paperclip, that's impressive. Much better than Paddy down the pub!
He is the best player on the planet right now, and many consider him to be the greatest player of all time. Phil Taylor will have something to say about that. The Power is going for world title number 17 and appears to be having 'one last crack' at it this year.
Van Gerwen was asked the question by the New York Times and gave an interesting answer.
If you look at the Lionel Messi of these times or the Diego Maradona of that time, I think the Messi of this time is 20 times better than the Maradona of that time. I am the Messi
Indeed, the standard of darts has raised considerably since Taylor won his first title 26 years ago. Nowadays, it's common place to see a 100+ average, particularly when Van Gerwen is involved.
The Green Machine doesn't own a dartboard in his own house. He finds the sport boring to watch. And yet, come New Years Day, he'll probably be up on the stage in the semi finals.
The 57 year old Taylor is considering retirement for a few years, having spent almost three decades throwing arrows. MVG has been professional since he was 17 but doesn't want to drag it out
I knew I was good, but this good? No, I couldn’t have dreamed about that,
I don’t have time for my wife, for my family, for my friends. When I’m a little bit older, I want to try to get that time back
It's unlikely that Van Gerwen will eclipse Taylor's 16 titles. But having wrestled the world number one spot off him, he will give it a good shot.
