Michael van Gerwen, ladies and gentlemen:
- 2 x PDC World Championship
- 2 x World Matchplay
- 3 x World Grand Prix
- 3 x Grand Slam
- 4 x Players Championship Finals
- 4 x European Championship
- 4 x The Masters
- 4 x Premier League
And this has all been happening since 2012.
You look on in awe and watch Michael van Gerwen get better and better. You assure yourself that nobody could ever have been this good at throwing a dart at a target and then, you have to try to remind your head that this guy has just turned 29.
On Thursday night, he just showed that his dominance is set to continue as he clinched an unprecedented fourth Premier League title in six years with a victory over Michael Smith but a victory that was truly gobsmacking - even for Michael van Gerwen's unbelievable standards.
Here's a snapshot of what he did to poor Smith in the final.
- 11-4 victory
- Averaged 112.37 (he was up over his record 123.4 for a while)
- Three 11-dart legs
- Two 12-dart legs
- 73% checkout in his first 8 winning legs
- 7 180s
Imagine you're Michael Smith and you're playing against that. What is the bloody point? Smith actually said afterwards, "even if I had four darts, I wouldn't have kept up with him".
Throughout the Premier League, van Gerwen has been mundanely phenomenal and, in total, he pocketed £275k for that campaign alone, adding an additional £130k last night.
During that final, he was earning himself £673 quid
per dart. And, over the last three months, just moving his arm in the direction of the board was making him a small fortune every time.
https://twitter.com/ochepedia/status/997216087044513793
After making it three in a row, the Dutch master allowed himself a little brag as he looked back over his own achievements in awe.
https://twitter.com/MvG180/status/997229121364287488
Just another night in the life of Michael van Gerwen and just another stack of achievements and records that laugh in the face of anyone who thinks throwing darts is an easy thing to do.
https://twitter.com/OfficialPDC/status/997225228555124736
