MIGHTY MIKE BACK ON TOP OF THE WORLD
WHEN a punter stormed the stage, interrupting the World Darts Championship final, he held the Sid Waddell Trophy aloft before being tackled by security. Michael van Gerwen, though, would soon have it in his hands instead. The 27-year-old Dutchman was untouchable in 2016 with 25 trophies to his name and started 2017 by defeating Gary Anderson to claim the world title for a second time. The man known as Mighty Mike won 7-3 and showed why he is seen by some as the heir to Phil Taylor’s throne, taking home the trophy and £350,000 in prize money. There were 42 180s thrown here, beating the previous record of 34 from the final between Anderson and Adrian Lewis last year. Not even the stage invader could put off Van Gerwen, who said: ‘That was a bit sad. You always have people like that. He wanted to give me the trophy but he will probably never see a darts game again. ‘I feel amazing but I did not play my A-game. He put me under pressure but I am a happy man. It is the most important trophy of the year.’ His post-match press conference was interrupted by a phone call from Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte — make no mistake, Van Gerwen is a celebrity in Holland. Anderson was trying to join Taylor and Eric Bristow by claiming a third consecutive world title here. The hat-trick was never on the cards, however. Anderson, known as the nicest man in darts, admitted he was beaten by the better player. ‘This boy is quite good,’ he said, smiling. ‘I reckon in a year or two he will be top dog. I have had a great three years. ‘At 2-2 I thought I was still going in this match but Mike did it.’ There are dream finals for darts fans, then there is Van Gerwen v Anderson. This was a battle between the two best players on the planet in a race of first to seven sets. The Flying Scotsman put up a fight at first. It was fast and furious as they got to 1-1, both averaging 107, before moving to 2-2. Yet from then on, it was an onslaught from Van Gerwen. He ran away with it, winning 7-3, though the £160,000 cheque for coming second will help Anderson get over this. Van Gerwen was labelled the Lionel Messi of darts by this newspaper, and the Michael Jordan of his sport by The New York Times. Here, with each unerring dart, we found out why.