World Championship 2017: Van Gerwen dethrones Anderson


Michael van Gerwen underlined his formidable dominance of darts by defeating Gary Anderson 7-3 in a record-breaking 2017 PDC World Championship final at Alexandra Palace.

Just a day after posting an astonishing World Championship record match average of 114.05 - eclipsing Phil Taylor's previous mark of 111.21 back in 2002 - in a 6-2 victory over Raymond van Barneveld, the world number one got his hands on the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time since 2014 as well as a cheque for £350,000, while he also denied Anderson a third straight title.

Van Gerwen averaged 107.79 in the final, hit 20 180s and his five 100+ finishes helped him end with a checkout percentage of 44.26% as he put the two-time defending champion to the sword in front of a sell-out crowd and an expected TV audience of over a million.

Anderson was hoping to emulate the achievements of Eric Bristow (1984-86) and Phil Taylor (1995-2002 & 2004-06) by becoming only the third man to win three successive world titles and he more than contributed to a sizzling showdown, averaging 104.93 on the night while he set a new individual World Championship match record of 22 180s to extend his overall tally to 71 - another tournament best which beat his 2015 mark of 64.

The pair's combined total of 42 maximums was also the world record number of 180s in a single game and this helped the tournament tally soar to 704, which was easily more than the previous best of 654 set last year.

Van Gerwen, who has ruthlessly ruled the sport over the past two years except on the biggest stage of all, headed into the event saying his season would be a failure if he couldn't follow up his 25 titles in 2016 with a second world crown.

But despite this self-imposed pressure and frequently bringing the very best out of his opponents, the 27-year-old stormed through the championship with an overall average of 106.99 and 66 180s while he lost just nine sets (winning 29) to emphatically ensure he can stand proudly at the very summit, towering high above his rivals.

"This feels absolutely phenomenal," said Van Gerwen, who crucially won five sets in a row when the tie was locked at 2-2 to take full control.

"I think it was a special game of darts for everyone who saw it. I'm a really happy man. I've worked so hard for this all year.

"Everyone wants this trophy and I'm really glad that it is me holding it and to win it against Gary makes it even more special. He is a phenomenal player with a lot of class and I had to play like that to beat him.

"I've got great support from my wife, family and all the people around me and winning this means a lot to me. Everyone said that I would have to win a second World Championship to be one of the big boys. Well I've done it now and it means everything to me."

Anderson scooped £160,000 as runner-up as the top two seeds contested the tournament finale for the first time since 2009, when Phil Taylor defeated van Barneveld.

"Michael deserves it this year," said Anderson, who saw his 17 match winning run at Alexandra Palace dating back to when van Gerwen beat him in December 2013 finally ended.

"The year he has had has been brilliant and if anyone was going to beat me it was going to be him. We've both had a good tournament and it's been a fantastic one for everyone to watch."

Van Gerwen has now won 28 matches in a row dating back to his defeat against Daryl Gurney at the German Darts Championship back in October while this latest victory is his 40th in a row in televised PDC ranking tournaments since losing to van Barneveld in the 2016 World Championship.

The Dutchman, who beat Peter Wright to claim his maiden crown in 2014, showed his rivals no mercy in 2016 having won 25 tournaments in an astonishing season, which also saw him set a televised world record average of 123.4 in a Premier League match against Michael Smith. 

Among van Gerwen's 25 triumphs have been the eight major televised titles at the Masters, UK Open, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, World Series of Darts Finals, European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts, and Players Championship Finals while he was also crowned Premier League champion for the second time.

The only high-profile event he failed in since his World Championship heartache 12 months ago was at the inaugural Champions League of Darts, where Phil Taylor comfortably beat him twice in one weekend, but since then he's bounced back in the most emphatic of fashions.

 

Van Gerwen 7-3 Anderson: Set-By-Set Breakdown

Set scores in brackets

SET ONEMichael van Gerwen 1-0 Gary Anderson (3-2)
First final between the top two seeds since 2009 got off to an explosive start with van Gerwen taking out 122 with a bullseye finish before Anderson responded with a stunning 11-darter as neither player showed any slightest sign of nerves. The next two legs were shared to set up a decider, which MVG took on double 18 despite being put under pressure by Anderson's fourth 180 of the set.

SET TWOMichael van Gerwen 1-1 Gary Anderson (2-3)
The Flying Scotsman swiftly brushed off the disappointment by holding his throw in the first leg - albeit with the help of a rare miss from MVG - but the Dutchman nailed a 116 checkout to restore parity. Both players held throw again to set up another deciding leg and this time it went the way of Anderson, who held his nerve from 80 with his opponent waiting to return on 32.

SET THREEMichael van Gerwen 1-2 Gary Anderson (2-3)
The first break of throw finally came in the opening leg of the third set, with Anderson pinning double top to check out from 52, but MVG's fifth maximum helped to set up a fine 11-darter in the next leg as he broke straight back. The Dutchman held throw to go 2-1 up and looked on the brink of taking the set after seven perfect darts in a row in the next leg only for Anderson to deny him with a timely 12-darter as another decider was needed to separate the pair. MVG reached a finish first but two missed attempts at a double was capitalised on by the Scotsman, who nailed double 12 to move ahead in sets for the first time.

SET FOURMichael van Gerwen 2-2 Gary Anderson (3-2)
Unsurprisingly the opening four legs of the fourth set went with the throw to set up another nail-biting fifth leg for both sets of supporters inside Alexandra Palace and when Anderson failed to set up a shot at a double from 132, van Gerwen punished him by clinically nailing double seven to check out from 86.

SET FIVEMichael van Gerwen 3-2 Gary Anderson (3-0)
The 46-year-old failed to take advantage of van Gerwen's two spurned darts at doubles in the opening leg of set five by missing two of his own and the Dutchman made him pay before clinically finishing from 94 and 65 in successive legs to earn a rare whitewash in this topsy-turvey contest.

SET SIXMichael van Gerwen 4-2 Gary Anderson (3-1)
Van Gerwen was starting to take firm control and although Anderson checked out superbly from 74 to take the opening leg, the top seed ruthlessly finished from 48, 50 and 64 to storm into a two-set lead.

SET SEVENMichael van Gerwen 5-2 Gary Anderson (3-0)
Anderson was still averaging over 106 but could do little to prevent this relentless van Gerwen charge which saw the 2014 champion storm to a fourth set in a row, winning his 12th leg in the last 13 with a fine 125 checkout - the highest of the match so far.

SET EIGHTMichael van Gerwen 6-2 Gary Anderson (3-1)
Uncharacteristic sloppy finishing from van Gerwen allowed Anderson to nick the opener but it proved to be just a blip as the world number one checkout from 76, 75 and 100 to move just one set away from his second world title while he'd pushed his 180 count to 15 - two more than his opponent.

SET NINEMichael van Gerwen 6-3 Gary Anderson (2-3)
Both players hit 180s in the first leg which van Gerwen won on double three after Anderson failed to finish from 20 but the Scotsman hit tops to level only to miss a dart to break in the following leg as his opponent held his nerve on double two. Anderson found another 180 on his way to forcing a decider before grabbing a set-winning 81 finish to stay alive.

SET 10Michael van Gerwen 7-3 Gary Anderson (3-2)
Anderson continued to dig in with four more 180s in the set to take his record-breaking tally for the match up to 22 while MVG nailed three to finish on 20 maximums. The overall total of 42 180s was a new record for a single darts match. More importantly four shared legs, which included a 100 checkout from MVG, meant another decider and it was the world number one who finished it off in style by finishing 85 on the bull to get his hands on the Sid Waddell Trophy for a second time.  

Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson: Final stats

Three-dart averages
Van Gerwen: 107.79
Anderson: 104.93

100+ thrown
Van Gerwen: 57
Anderson:  47
140+ thrown
Van Gerwen: 30
Anderson: 32 
180+ thrown
Van Gerwen: 20
Anderson: 22 

Highest checkout
Van Gerwen: 125
Anderson:  81

100+ checkouts
Van Gerwen: 5
Anderson: 0

Checkout percentage
Van Gerwen: 44.36%
Anderson: 37.78%

Van Gerwen v Anderson: Tournament statistics

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN

SETS
Sets won-lost: 29-9
Legs won-lost: 100-58
Sets won-lost 3-2: 10-6

AVERAGES
Three-dart averages: 103.34, 105.24, 104.44, 103.08, 114.05, 107.79
Overall three-dart average: 106.99

SCORING
Total 100+ thrown: 196
Total 140+ thrown: 119
Total 180s thrown: 66
180s thrown per leg: Will appear here

CHECKOUTS
Highest checkout: 170 (x3)
Total 100+ Checkouts: 15
Checkout percentages: 45%, 36.86%, 37.84%, 41.46%, 51.35 %, 44.26 %
Overall checkout percentage: 42.74% (100/234)

GARY ANDERSON

SETS
Sets won-lost: 25-15
Legs won-lost: 93-76
Sets won-lost 3-2: 12-7

AVERAGES
Three-dart averages: 96.16, 102.58, 107.68, 105.9, 103.45, 104.93
Overall three-dart average: 104.30

SCORING
Total 100+ thrown: 203
Total 140+ thrown: 139
Total 180s thrown: 71
180s thrown per leg: Will appear here

CHECKOUTS
Highest checkout: 157
Total 100+ Checkouts: 10
Checkout percentages: 37.5%, 42.86%, 58.33%, 43.9%, 35.38%, 37.78 %
Overall checkout percentage: 40.43% (93/230)

Van Gerwen v Anderson: Tournament journeys

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN

First Round
3-0 v Kim Viljanen
Three-dart average: 103.34
100+ thrown: 15
140+ thrown: 4
180s thrown: 5
Highest checkout: 118
100+ Checkouts: 2
Checkout percentage: 45%

Second Round
4-2 v Cristo Reyes
Three-dart average: 105.24
100+ thrown: 24
140+ thrown: 23
180s thrown: 11
Highest checkout: 164
100+ Checkouts: 2
Checkout percentage: 36.86

Third Round
4-1 v Darren Webster
Three-dart average: 104.44
100+ thrown: 28
140+ thrown: 16
180s thrown: 8
Highest checkout: 170
100+ Checkouts: 1
Checkout percentage: 37.84%

Quarter-Final
5-1 v Daryl Gurney
Three-dart average: 103.08
100+ thrown: 36
140+ thrown: 17
180s thrown: 7
Highest checkout: 170 (x2)
100+ Checkouts: 3
Checkout percentage: 41.46%

Semi-Final
6-2 v Raymond van Barneveld
Three-dart average: 114.05 (New World Champ best)
100+ thrown: 36
140+ thrown: 29
180s thrown: 15
Highest checkout: 124
100+ Checkouts: 2
Checkout percentage: 51.35%

Final
7-3 v Gary Anderson
Three-dart average: 107.79
100+ thrown: 57
140+ thrown: 30
180s thrown: 20
Highest checkout: 125
100+ Checkouts: 5
Checkout percentage: 44.26 %

GARY ANDERSON

First Round
3-0 v Mark Frost
Three-dart average: 96.17
100+ thrown: 11
140+ thrown: 9
180s thrown: 5
Highest checkout: 116
100+ Checkouts: 1
Checkout percentage: 37.5%

Second Round
4-0 v Andrew Gilding
Three-dart average: 102.58
100+ thrown: 21
140+ thrown: 13
180s thrown: 6
Highest checkout: 134
100+ Checkouts: 2
Checkout percentage: 42.86%

Third Round
4-2 v Benito van de Pas
Three-dart average: 107.68
100+ thrown: 30
140+ thrown: 24
180s thrown: 11
Highest checkout: 96
100+ Checkouts: 0
Checkout percentage: 58.33%

Quarter-Final
5-3 v Dave Chisnall
Three-dart average: 105.9
100+ thrown: 49
140+ thrown: 31
180s thrown: 12
Highest checkout: 124
100+ Checkouts: 3
Checkout percentage: 43.9%

Semi-Final
6-3 v Peter Wright
Three-dart average: 103.45
100+ thrown: 45
140+ thrown: 39
180s thrown: 15
Highest checkout: 157
100+ Checkouts: 4
Checkout percentage: 35.38%

Final
3-7 v Michael van Gerwen
Three-dart average: 104.93
100+ thrown: 47
140+ thrown: 32
180s thrown: 22
Highest checkout: 81
100+ Checkouts: 0
Checkout percentage: 37.78 %

2017 PDC World Darts Championship Results

Preliminary Round (best of three sets)

Ross Snook 0-2 Kim Viljanen
Boris Koltsov 1-2 Dragutin Horvat
Zoran Lerchbacher 2-1 Simon Stevenson
Qiang Sun 0-2 Corey Cadby
John Bowles 0-2 David Platt
Tengku Shah 3-0 Masumi Chino
Jerry Hendriks 2-0 Warren Parry
Kevin Simm 2-0 Gilbert Ulang

First Round (best of five sets)Michael van Gerwen (1) 3-0 Kim Viljanen
Cristo Reyes (32) 3-2 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Stephen Bunting (16) 2-3 Darren Webster
Simon Whitlock (17) 3-0 Dragutin Horvat
Mensur Suljovic (8) 3-0 Ron Meulenkamp
Mark Webster (25) 3-0 Joe Murnan
Robert Thornton (9) 3-0 Zoran Lerchbacher
Daryl Gurney (24) 3-1 Jermaine Wattimena
Adrian Lewis (5) 3-0 Magnus Caris
Joe Cullen (28) 3-1 Corey Cadby
Raymond van Barneveld (12) 3-0 Robbie Green
Alan Norris (21) 3-2 John Michael
Phil Taylor (4) 3-0 David Platt
Jamie Caven (29) 1-3 Kevin Painter
Kim Huybrechts (13) 3-0 James Wilson
Vincent van der Voort (20) 1-3 Max Hopp
Gary Anderson (2) 3-0 Mark Frost
John Henderson (31) 2-3 Andrew Gilding
Benito van de Pas (15) 3-1 Tengku Shah
Terry Jenkins (18) 3-1 Josh Payne
Dave Chisnall (7) 3-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Justin Pipe (26) 1-3 Chris Dobey
Jelle Klaasen (10) 3-1 Jeffrey de Graaf
Brendan Dolan (23) 3-1 Christian Kist
James Wade (6) 3-0 Ronny Huybrechts
Steve Beaton (27) 3-1 Devon Petersen
Michael Smith (11) 3-2 Ricky Evans
Mervyn King (22) 3-2 Steve West
Peter Wright (3) 3-0 Jerry Hendriks
Jamie Lewis (30) 3-2 Mick McGowan
Ian White (14) 3-0 Kevin Simm
Gerwyn Price (19) 1-3 Jonny Clayton

Second Round (best of seven sets)Michael van Gerwen (1) 4-2 Cristo Reyes (32)
Darren Webster 4-0 Simon Whitlock (17)
Mensur Suljovic (8) 3-4 Mark Webster (25)
Robert Thornton (9) 3-4 Daryl Gurney (24)
Adrian Lewis (5) 4-0 Joe Cullen (28)
Raymond van Barneveld (12) 4-0 Alan Norris (21)
Phil Taylor (4) 4-0 Kevin Painter
Kim Huybrechts (13) 4-0 Max Hopp
Gary Anderson (2) 4-0 Andrew Gilding
Benito van de Pas (15) 4-3 Terry Jenkins (18)
Dave Chisnall (7) 4-2 Chris Dobey
Jelle Klaasen (10) 4-0 Brendan Dolan (23)
James Wade (6) 4-1 Steve Beaton (27)
Michael Smith (11) 4-3 Mervyn King (22)
Peter Wright (3) 4-0 Jamie Lewis (30)
Ian White (14) 4-1 Jonny Clayton

Third Round (best of seven sets)

Michael van Gerwen (1) 4-1 Darren Webster (17)
Mark Webster (25) 3-4 Daryl Gurney (24)
Adrian Lewis (5) 3-4 Raymond van Barneveld (12)
Phil Taylor (4) 4-2 Kim Huybrechts (13)
Gary Anderson (2) 4-2 Benito Van de Pas (15)
Dave Chisnall (7) 4-2 Jelle Klaasen (10)
James Wade (6) 4-3 Michael Smith (11)
Peter Wright (3) 4-1 Ian White (14)

Quarter-finals (best of nine sets)

Michael van Gerwen (1) 5-1 Daryl Gurney (24)
Raymond van Barneveld (12) 5-3 Phil Taylor (4)
Gary Anderson (2) 5-3 Dave Chisnall (7)
James Wade (6) 3-5 Peter Wright (3)

Semi-finals (best of 11 sets)

Gary Anderson (2) 6-3 Peter Wright (3)
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld (12)

Final (best of 13 sets)

Michael van Gerwen (1) 7-3 Gary Anderson (2)  

2017 World Championship: Statistics

TOP 10 MATCH AVERAGES

Michael van Gerwen: 114.05 (SF, won) *
Raymond van Barneveld: 109.34 (SF, lost) **
Michael van Gerwen: 107.79 (Final, won)
Gary Anderson: 107,68 (rd 3, won)
Cristo Reyes: 106.07 (rd 2, lost)
Gary Anderson: 105.90 (QF, won)
Michael van Gerwen: 105.24 (rd 2, won)
Gary Anderson: 104,93 (Final, lost)
Peter Wright: 104.79 (QF, won)
Darren Webster: 104.64 (rd 2, won)

* highest ever in a World Championship match
** highest ever losing average in a World Championship match

TOP 10 OVERALL TOURNAMENT AVERAGES

Michael van Gerwen: 106.99 (Six games)
Gary Anderson: 104.30 (Six games)
Peter Wright: 102.38 (Five games)
Cristo Reyes: 100.94 (Two games)
Raymond van Barneveld: 100.18 (Five games)
Corey Cadby: 99.62 (Two games)
Simon Whitlock: 99.19 (Two games)
Dimitri van den Bergh: 99.11 (One game)
Darren Webster: 98.62: (Three games)
Adrian Lewis: 98.16 (Three games)

TOP 10 180 HITTERS

The World Championship has seen a new record of 704 maximum 180s landed, surpassing last year's total of 654.Dave Chisnall also equalled Van Barneveld's world record 21 maximums in a match during his classic quarter-final with Anderson, 10 years after the Dutchman's amazing haul in the 2007 final, but in the final the Scotsman bettered it by nailing 22 of them in his final defeat to Michael van Gerwen.

Gary Anderson: 71 (Six games) *
Michael van Gerwen: 66 (Six games)
Dave Chisnall: 48 (Four games)
Raymond van Barneveld: 33 (Five games)
Michael Smith: 27 (Three games)
Peter Wright: 26 (Five games)
Darren Webster: 24 (Three games)
James Wade: 24 (Four games)
Daryl Gurney: 23 (Four games)
Jelle Klaasen: 19 (Three games)*New tournament record

TOP 10 OVERALL CHECKOUT PERCENTAGES

Corey Cadby: 60.87% (14/23)
Cristo Reyes: 60.53% (23/38)
John Michael: 57.89% (11/19)
Brendan Dolan: 51.61% (16/31)
Ian White: 50.91% (28/55)
Jelle Klaasen: 50.79% (32/63)
John Henderson: 50% (13/26)
Ronny Huybrechts: 50% (4/8)
James Wade: 49.04% (51/104)
Kim Huybrechts: 47.06% (32/68)

TOP FIVE CHECKOUTS

170 - Michael van Gerwen (3), Simon Whitlock
167 - Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld
161 - Adrian Lewis, Daryl Gurney
157 - Darren Webster, Gary Anderson
156 - David Platt, Jerry Hendriks

PDC World Championship: Historical facts & stats

PDC World Darts Championship Finals

1994 - Dennis Priestley 6-1 Phil Taylor
1995 - Phil Taylor 6-2 Rod Harrington
1996 - Phil Taylor 6-4 Dennis Priestley
1997 - Phil Taylor 6-3 Dennis Priestley
1998 - Phil Taylor 6-0 Dennis Priestley
1999 - Phil Taylor 6-2 Peter Manley
2000 - Phil Taylor 7-3 Dennis Priestley
2001 - Phil Taylor 7-0 John Part
2002 - Phil Taylor 7-0 Peter Manley
2003 - John Part 7-6 Phil Taylor
2004 - Phil Taylor 7-6 Kevin Painter
2005 - Phil Taylor 7-4 Mark Dudbridge
2006 - Phil Taylor 7-0 Peter Manley
2007 - Raymond van Barneveld 7-6 Phil Taylor
2008 - John Part 7-2 Kirk Shepherd
2009 - Phil Taylor 7-1 Raymond van Barneveld
2010 - Phil Taylor 7-3 Simon Whitlock
2011 - Adrian Lewis 7-5 Gary Anderson
2012 - Adrian Lewis 7-3 Andy Hamilton
2013 - Phil Taylor 7-4 Michael van Gerwen
2014 - Michael van Gerwen 7-4 Peter Wright
2015 - Gary Anderson 7-6 Phil Taylor
2016 - Gary Anderson 7-5 Adrian Lewis
2017 - Michael van Gerwen 7-3 Gary Anderson

PDC World Darts Championship Most Titles

Phil Taylor - 14
Michael van Gerwen - 2
John Part - 2
Adrian Lewis - 2
Gary Anderson - 2
Dennis Priestly - 1
Raymond van Barneveld - 1

PDC World Darts Championship Nine-Dart FinishesRaymond van Barneveld - 2009 (QF v win v Jelle Klaasen)
Raymond van Barneveld - 2010 (2nd Rd win v Brendan Dolan)
Adrian Lewis - 2011 (Final win v Gary Anderson)
Dean Winstanley - 2013 (2nd Rd loss v Vincent van der Voort)
Michael van Gerwen - 2013 (SF win v James Wade)
Terry Jenkins - 2014 (1st Rd loss v Per Laursen)
Kyle Anderson - 2014 (1st Rd loss v Ian White)
Adrian Lewis - 2015 (3rd Rd loss v Raymond van Barneveld)
Gary Anderson - 2016 (SF win v Jelle Klaasen)

Top 10 highest three-dart averages

  • Updated after final of 2017 World Championship

There's been over 100 three-dart match averages of 100 or more since the PDC World Championship began while averages of over 105 are becoming more common than ever.

Here, are the highest 10 three-dart averages achieved by a player in a single match:

114.05 - Michael van Gerwen (2017 SF, 6-2 v Raymond van Barneveld)
111.21 - Phil Taylor (2002 2nd rd, 6-1 v Shayne Burgess)
110.94 - Phil Taylor (2009 final, 7-1 v van Barneveld) 
109.34 - Raymond van Barneveld (2017 SF, 2-6 v Michael van Gerwen)
109.23 - Michael van Gerwen (2016 2nd rd, 4-0 v Darren Webster)
109.00 - Phil Taylor (2007 2nd rd, 4-1 v Mick McGovern)
108.80 - Phil Taylor (2009 QF, 5-0 v Co Stompe)
108.39 - Gary Anderson (2011, 3rd rd, 4-0 v Andy Smith)
108.31 - Raymond van Barneveld (2013, 1st rd, 3-0 v Michael Smith)
108.30 - Phil Taylor (2006 3rd rd, 4-0 v Andy Hamilton)

Five highest losing averages

109.34 - Raymond van Barneveld (2017 SF, 2-6 v van Gerwen)
106.07 - Cristo Reyes (2017 2nd rd, 2-4 v van Gerwen)
105.78 - Michael van Gerwen (2016 3rd rd, 3-4 v van Barneveld)
104.93 - Gary Anderson (2017 final, 3-7 v van Gerwen)
104.63 - Dave Chisnall (2017 QF, 3-5 v Gary Anderson)

Players with the most 100+ averages

Phil Taylor - 53, highest 111.21 (2002)
Gary Anderson - 17, highest 108.39 (2011)
Michael van Gerwen - 15, highest 114.05 (2017)
Adrian Lewis - 14, highest 106.51 (2010)
Raymond van Barneveld - 11, highest 109.34 (2017)
Peter Wright - 9, highest 105.07 (2014)
​Simon Whitlock - 6, highest 105.37 (2010)
Dave Chisnall - 3, highest 104.63 (2017)
Jelle Klaasen - 3, highest 102.54 (2016)
Michael Smith - 3, highest 102.78 (2015)
Terry Jenkins - 2, highest 102.64 (2012)
Andy Hamilton - 2, highest 102.04 (2011)
Cristo Reyes - 1, highest 106.07 (2017)
Darren Webster - 1, highest 104.64 (2017)
Richie Burnett - 1, highest 103.38 (2001)
Corey Cadby - 1, highest 102.48 (2017)
Co Stompe - 1, highest 102.42 (2010)
Stephen Bunting - 1, highest 102.34 (2015)
Mick McGowan - 1, highest 101.82 (2007)
Robert Thornton - 1, highest 101.49 (2015)
Dennis Priestley - 1, highest 101.48 (1996)
Joe Cullen - 1, highest 100.88 (2017)

PDC World Darts Championship 2018 Odds

Michael van Gerwen is unsurprisingly Sky Bet's odds-on favourite at 4/6 to defend his world title in 2018 while Gary Anderson is 11/2 ahead of Peter Wright and Phil Taylor, who are both 12/1.

Adrian Lewis is next in the running at 20/1 while Raymond van Barneveld is 25/1 and Dave Chisnall is 33/1.Click here for all the odds 

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