Michael van Gerwen was named the PDC Player of the Year at the Dorchester Hotel, London last night, as the Dutchman won the prestigious accolade at the annual PDC Awards dinner, while there was a host of trophies for recent world champion Rob Cross, who propelled into the limelight over the festive period to beat Phil Taylor in a memorable final of the PDC World Darts Championship.
van Gerwen, who won the 2017 World Championship, has been a dominant figure on the oche throughout 2017, as he won 18 tournaments, with the Premier League, Grand Slam of Darts and Masters just a trio of events at the top of his roll of honour, and the 28-year-old was seen picking up the Player of the Year for the third year in a row having been crowned joint winner with Gary Anderson in 2016 before lifting the crown on his own at last year's glitzy evening.
'Mighty Mike' told www.pdc.tv, "I had a fabulous year," reflected Van Gerwen. "Rob Cross did phenomenally last year but I still had a good year and I won 18 tournaments and I'm happy to win this award. "I will keep believing in myself this year and I'm still in good form. I know I can do a little bit better but I will celebrate this award first and then prepare for the tournaments coming up."
But, the evening was not just about van Gerwen, as a host of awards were handed out and recent world champion Cross was unsurprisingly handed the Best Newcomer Award, as well as the Best Television Performance Award for his win over van Gerwen in the semi-final of the World Championships.
#PDCAwards
Elsewhere on the evening, Dimitri Van den Bergh was handed the Young Player of the Year award, while a whole host of players joined the PDC Nine-Dart Club for notching a perfect leg in a PDC tournament, with Kyle Anderson and Adrian Lewis earning a gold pin for producing their nine perfect darts in front of the television cameras.
Another notable award was given to Sky Sports presenter Dave Clark, who was inducted to the Hall Of Fame for his services to the sport, as he has been the face of Sky Sports Darts for 15 years, and has also raised awareness and funds for Parkinson's UK.
Check out all the Awards Night winners here:
2018 PDC Annual Awards:
PDC Hall of Fame Induction
Dave Clark - Sky Sports Darts Presenter
ProTour Player of the Year
Winner: Peter Wright
PDC Best Newcomer
Winner: Rob Cross
Televised Performance of the Year
Winner: Rob Cross, World Championship semi-finals v Michael van Gerwen
PDC Fans' Player of the Year
Winner: Rob Cross
PDPA Players' Player of the Year
Winner: Rob Cross
PDC Nine-Dart Club
Gold Pins (Live on Televison) : Adrian Lewis, Kyle Anderson
Silver Pins: Robert Allenstein, Kyle Anderson, Steve Beaton, Dave Chisnall, Joe Cullen, Mike De Decker, Mark Dudbridge, Ted Evetts, Rob Hewson, Kim Huybrechts, Ronny Huybrechts, Christian Kist, Adrian Lewis, Jamie Lewis, Mickey Mansell, Ryan Meikle, Kenny Neyens, Mensur Suljovic, Michael van Gerwen, Darren Webster, Ricky Williams, Peter Wright
PDC Young Player of the Year
Winner: Dimitri Van den Bergh
PDC Player of the Year
Winner: Michael van Gerwen
