GREEN SWEEP FOR VAN GERWEN AT PDC ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN'S incredible 12 months has seen the world number one collect four trophies at the PDC Annual Awards Dinner, including the PDC Player of the Year title.
The Dutch superstar won 25 tournaments during an amazing 2016 before recapturing the William Hill World Darts Championship title on Monday with his thrilling victory over Gary Anderson.
Van Gerwen's dominance of the circuit was matched by his haul of four trophies at the PDC Annual Awards Dinner, which was held at The Dorchester in London on Wednesday.
Having earlier been voted by his fellow competitors as the PDPA Players' Player of the Year and by fans worldwide as the PDC Fans' Player of the Year, van Gerwen later the scooped the top honour of PDC Player of the Year - which he had shared with Anderson 12 months ago.
The 27-year-old also took home the Best ProTour Player award after winning £270,000 in the PDC's non-televised events during 2016, taking victory in six European Tour events, five Players Championships and three UK Open Qualifiers.
"I love winning trophies and this is a memorable night for me," said Van Gerwen. "This is fantastic.
"Everyone keeps pushing each other and playing better and better, and we're happy that we are part of this game. We have a great sport and I hope we can have many more years like this.
"We all work really hard for it and people might not understand what we sacrifice but it's very difficult but I love it, I love what I do and I hope I can do much more in the future as well because I want to be number one and stay number one."
Benito van de Pas was named as the Young Player of the Year, having established himself amongst the world's top 16 over the past year and won three Players Championship events in the process.
Austrian star Mensur Suljovic was named as the Most Improved Player, after winning his first ranking title and reaching the Unibet European Championship final during his rise into the world's top ten.
Phil Taylor was awarded the Televised Performance of the Year for his display as he won the inaugural Unibet Champions League of Darts in September, where he defeated Van Gerwen in the final.
Three-time World Champion and former Las Vegas Desert Classic winner John Part was inducted into the PDC Hall of Fame to recognise his achievements as the sport's most successful North American player.
"I love darts and I think there are a lot of great, fantastic things happening in the game," said Part. "It's been really wonderful, and I'm so happy to have been at the onset of the current game, and to get some acknowledgement of that is fantastic.
"All I've ever done is play a game I love, and I got to keep going to different places and do a lot more than play darts, and I've had a lot of good times. This means a great deal to me."
The night also saw the presentation of commemorative pin badges to the players who achieved a nine-dart finish in 2016, including to Van Gerwen, Adrian Lewis and Alan Norris for their televised perfect legs.
A special programme from the PDC Annual Awards Dinner will be shown on ITV later in January, with broadcast times to be confirmed at www.pdc.tv.
HALL OF FAME
John Part
NINE-DART CLUB
Gold Pin Badges (Televised Events)
Michael van Gerwen, Adrian Lewis, Alan Norris
Silver Pin Badges (Non-Televised Events)
Ross Smith, Jamie Caven, Mark Dudbridge, Richie Corner, Michael van Gerwen Stuart Kellett, Adrian Lewis, Alan Norris, Dave Chisnall, Devon Petersen, James Richardson, Jeffrey de Zwaan, Steve Brown, Daniel Cole, Rob Cross, Richard Baillie, Jeffrey de Graaf, Yordi Meeuwisse, Simon Whitlock
BEST PROTOUR PLAYER
Michael van Gerwen
TELEVISED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Phil Taylor - Unibet Champions League of Darts
Nominated:
Michael van Gerwen - Betway Premier League (Aberdeen)
Peter Wright - SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen - William Hill World Darts Championship
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Mensur Suljovic
Nominated:
Joe Cullen
James Wilson
Chris Dobey
PDC FANS' PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Michael van Gerwen - with almost 50% of the vote
PDPA PLAYERS' PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Michael van Gerwen - with over 50 % of the vote
PDC YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Benito van de Pas
Nominated
Corey Cadby
Josh Payne
Chris Dobey
PDC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Michael van Gerwen
Nominated
Gary Anderson
Phil Taylor
Peter Wright