Five times birthday boy Michael van Gerwen made darting history
To celebrate Michael van Gerwen's birthday, Planet Sport takes look at five times one of the best players to ever step on the oche shocked the darting world.
The Dutchman is only 32 years old yet his achievements have already earned him legendary status in the sport.
Youngest player to hit a televised nine-darter
The Green Machine progressed to the semi-finals where he took on fellow countryman Raymond van Barneveld.
Youngest PDC World Championship winner
His successes meant that by the time the next World Championships came around, he was ranked second in the world.
The Dutchman lived up to the billing and once again reached the final - only this time he would take on Scotsman Peter Wright.
MVG started like a house on fire and took a 4-0 lead in a flash. Wright fought back but ultimately the gap proved too big as Mighty Mike won 7-4 to seal his first world title.
As well as becoming the second Dutchman to win the PDC's biggest prize, the 24-year-old also made history by being the youngest player to win the tournament. A record which is yet to be beaten.
Highest televised three-dart average
The Dutchman won all but one televised ranking event and backed that up by winning three more non-ranked televised tournaments.
Highest average at the PDC World Championship
Producing a big average at the PDC World Darts Championship is a tougher challenge due to the long format of matches.
For Van Gerwen though, different formats don't appear to bother him having recorded the highest ever three-dart average at the World Championships.
His achievement came during the 2017 edition of the worlds. If that wasn't impressive enough, MVG pulled off his 114.05 average across eight sets in a 6-2 semi-final victory over five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld.
One dart away from a double nine-darter
Because it would be rude not to three days out...
ā PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 12, 2021
Throwback to the time Michael van Gerwen nearly completed darts with šÆš®š°šø-šš¼-šÆš®š°šø nine-darters!
One day that second D12 will go in... pic.twitter.com/Zs0hojzFLI
Despite coming within one dart of the greatest two minutes in the sport, his 17 perfect arrows will never be forgotten.