Is Michael Van Gerwen The Best Of All Time?

MVG PDC 2020

While he may never come close to Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor’s full career achievements, there is a case to be made that Michael van Gerwen is the best darter of all time.

Quick Michael Van Gerwen Facts and Accomplishments

NicknameMighty Mike
NationalityDutch
Date of Birth25 April, 1989
Premier LeagueWinner 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 20119
PDC World ChampionshipsWinner 2014, 2017, 2019

His list of achievements is endless, particularly when it comes to the majors where the 27-year-old now stands bald head and shoulders above the rest of the field. A recent trophy glut cannot hide a glorious decade for the Dutch sensation who still has enough time on his hands to overtake Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor as the sport’s finest ever, an accolade many have already paid to him.

It was ten years ago that the 17-year-old from Boxtel, Holland became the youngest player ever to win a major darts title when he took down the 2006 World Masters to add to the multiple tournaments he had also collected as a teenager.

MVG darts: A Dutch prodigy

One year later he moved up, sizing up the game’s number one, Phil Taylor, which for any other teenager would have been too daunting a task. No matter.

The 18-year-old Mighty Mike took down The Power in straight sets. This was achieved as part of a quite remarkable run to the final of the Dutch Masters of Darts tournament, where he went on to hit an incredible nine-dart finish against Raymond van Barneveld, the eventual tournament winner.

Throughout his senior successes, he was also thriving at the youth level, where he reached two PDC Youth World Championship finals, allowing him to begin asserting his dominance on his peers.

PDC Young Player Of the Year Award signals futures success

In 2011, he was named as PDC Young Player of the Year, giving himself the confidence to make the following season his true breakout year. In 2012, MVG won seven Pro Tour events, hit a live televised a nine-dart leg on his way to Blackpool’s World Matchplay quarter-finals and scored his first major PDC title, the £100,000 World Grand Prix title in Dublin, that October.

He then made the final of the next televised tournament, The Grand Slam of Darts, where he perfectly executed a highly impressive 10-5 triumph over sixteen-time world champion Taylor in the last 16.

In that season’s World Championships, he eliminated defending champion Adrian Lewis before destroying James Wade in the semis and losing to Taylor in the final. Then, to cap it off, the PDC awards ceremony that had twelve months earlier crowned the Dutchman as Young Player of the Year was now awarding its newest star the Fans’ Player of the Year, PDPA Players’ Player of the Year and his second consecutive Young Player of the Year award.

Having taken no time at all to rise to fourth in the PDC Order of Merit, MVG achieved automatic qualification for the Premier League of Darts which, of course, he won in a final against The Power as the pair began to lock up the sport, refusing to let almost any other player get a look in over the following few years.

The pair met again in the final of the 2013 Players Championship which, like so many others to come, went the way of the Dutchman. He finished the season by becoming the World Champion when he defeated Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright in the final at the Alexandra Palace.

Michael van Gerwen: A Darts icon

MVG darts career highlights

From there, he has grown into one of the sport’s domineering forces as he picked up title after title in 2014 and 2015 before, this year he has won almost everything, virtually unchallenged. He has later retained his Masters, Matchplay, European Championship, Grand Slam and UK Open titles while also claiming the Premier League.

Today, he is a three-time PDC World Darts champion and five-time winner of the Premier League of Darts. Van Gerwen is the second most successful player in PDC history, behind Phil Taylor.

And it is this on which he will ultimately be measured in darting history.  While Taylor has won 84 major titles, which includes the jaw-dropping record of 16 World Championships, MVG is in receipt of 52 PDC wins and is closing in on the record. This, while Adrian ‘Jackpot’ Lewis, Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright and Gary ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson all have two apiece. It would be a travesty if Van Gerwen only collects three World Championships in his career, but we can’t really see that happening, can we?

The biggest event of the year begins in a matter of weeks and, if MVG is to challenge The Power’s WC legacy, then he must start delivering at the Ally Pally. A tenner says he will.

Michael van Gerwen’s amazing 2016

  • The Masters (PDC Major, ArenaMK)
  • UK Open Qualifier 2 (Wigan)
  • Dutch Darts Masters (European Tour)
  • UK Open Qualifier 5 (Wigan)
  • UK Open Qualifier 6 (Wigan)
  • UK Open (PDC Major, Minehead)
  • German Darts Masters (European Tour, Munich)
  • Players Championship 3 (Barnsley)
  • Gibraltar Darts Trophy (European Tour, Gibraltar)
  • Premier League Darts (PDC Major)
  • Shanghai Darts Masters (WSD Event, Shanghai)
  • World Matchplay (PDC Major, Blackpool)
  • European Darts Open (European Tour, Duesseldorf)
  • Perth Darts Masters (WSD Event, Perth)
  • European Darts Trophy (European Tour, Muelheim)
  • European Darts Grand Prix (European Tour, Sindelfingen)
  • Players Championship 14 (Barnsley)
  • Players Championship 15 (Barnsley)
  • Players Championship 16 (Barnsley)
  • Players Championship 17 (Dublin)
  • World Grand Prix (PDC Major, Dublin)
  • European Championship (PDC Major, Hasselt, Belgium)
  • World Series of Darts Finals (PDC Major, Glasgow)
  • Grand Slam of Darts (PDC Major, Wolverhampton)
  • PDC World Championship ?

Career honours in the PDC

  • PDC World Championship: 2014, 2017, 2019
  • Premier League: 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
  • UK Open: 2015, 2016, 2020
  • World Matchplay: 2015, 2016
  • The Masters: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
  • World Grand Prix: 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019
  • Grand Slam of Darts: 2015, 2016, 2017
  • European Championship: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
  • Players Championship Finals: 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020
  • World Series of Darts Finals: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
  • World Cup: 2014, 2017, 2018
  • Televised nine-dart finishes: 7

Michael Van Gerwen FAQs

We know a lot about Michael Van Gerwen the world-class darts player, but darts fans also have a lot of other questions about MVG. So here we take a look at some of the questions you are asking about arguably the best darts player today.

What is Michael Van Gerwen’s nickname?

Michael Van Gerwen’s nickname is “Mighty Mike.” He also is commonly referred to by his initials, MVG.

Who is Michael Van Gerwen’s wife

Michael Van Gerwen’s wife is Daphne Govers, who he married in 2014.

What is the Michael Van Gerwen Net Worth?

The Michael Van Gerwen net worth is estimated to be around the $6 million mark. As the world’s number one darts player from 2014 to 2021, he has amassed a small fortune with over £8.5 million in career earnings.

What does Michael Van Gerwen’s house look like?

In 2017, MVG purchased a home in Vlijmen, in the Dutch province of North Brabant, Netherlands.

What is the Michael Van Gerwen Twitter handle?

Michael Van Gerwen’s Twitter can be found at @MvG180. The account is managed by MODUS Darts and has over 385,000 followers.

How old is Michael Van Gerwen?

Michael van Gerwen was born on April 25th, 1989.

What did Michael Van Gerwen look like with hair?

It’s hard to believe that the famously bald Dutchman once had hair. This is what MVG looked like during his early darts days:

Michael Van Gerwen (MVG) young with hair

What are MVG career earnings?

As of March 1st, MVG career earnings total £8,571,167, which is the most all-time.

Even more MVG questions answered

Still want to know more about your favorite player? MVG sat down to do the Autocomplete Challenge on YouTube to answer some top questions that fans are searching for on Google.