Sporting Life
Michael van Gerwen won the Player of the Year award (Picture: PDC)
Michael van Gerwen won the Player of the Year award (Picture: PDC)

PDC Darts Awards: Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson scoop the big honours at the Dorchester

By Chris Hammer
Darts
Sat January 26, 2019 · 7y ago

Details of the winners from the 2019 PDC Annual Awards Dinner, as Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson won two of the big prizes.

The PDC celebrated an unforgettable year for darts at The Dorchester on Monday night as a number of awards were handed out to the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Daryl Gurney.

Below we list all the winners from the glittering ceremony, the nominees for each category and a range of video highlights for you to relive the drama of 2018.

2019 PDC Annual Awards Results

PDC Player of the Year

Winner: Michael van Gerwen
Nominated: Gary Anderson, Michael Smith, James Wade

As if there was any doubt as to who would win this top honour for the fourth year in a row.

MVG's dominance may have been strangely questioned at points during a year where he didn't win quite as much as previous seasons - although the 19 he did scoop prior to the World Championship is still many more than a lot of players manage in a career - but he roars into 2019 well clear at the very top of the sport having triumphed so emphatically at Alexandra Palace.

The manner of his demolition jobs over Gary Anderson and Michael Smith in the semi-final and final respectively were ominous to say the least as he got his hands on the Sid Waddell Trophy for the third time in his incredible career.

Among the world number one's other successes in 2018 were the Premier League, Masters and the World Grand Prix while he also collected eight titles on the European Tour.

"To win these two awards is a phenomenal achievement, along with winning my third World Championship a few weeks ago," said Van Gerwen. "Other players are getting better and better every week so I have to be at my best all the time. I love playing darts and I'm going to come back even stronger next year.

"Darts is growing bigger and bigger and is being watched by more and more people around the world, so it's amazing to be World Champion and win this award as the sport continues to grow."

Televised Performance of the Year

Winner: Daryl Gurney (Players Championship Finals Final v Michael van Gerwen)
Nominated: Michael van Gerwen (Premier League Final v Michael Smith), Gary Anderson (World Matchplay Quarter-Final v Joe Cullen), Michael Smith (World Championship Semi-Final v Nathan Aspinall), Luke Humphries (World Championship Fourth Round v Rob Cross)

Daryl Gurney's battling spirit to beat Michael van Gerwen 11-9 in a thrilling climax to the Players Championship Finals saw him land this honour.

Van Gerwen was hot favourite to follow up his epic semi-final triumph over Gary Anderson earlier in the evening by winning this event for the fifth time in six years and fourth in a row but found the Northern Irishman in inspired form at the Butlin's Minehead Resort.

The 2017 World Grand Prix champion averaged 96 compared to MVG's 100 but he showed superb resilience to stay in touch before his superior finishing and nerves of steel in the closing stages proved decisive in a thoroughly entertaining final.

"Around a year ago I was questioning whether I could still play at the top level, but that Players Championship Finals win showed I can still do it," said Gurney. "For that reason that performance was a huge one for my career and I hope I can add many more titles to my honours list and keep making young Daryl proud."

Fans' Player of the Year

Winner: Gary Anderson
Runner-up: Michael van Gerwen

Gary Anderson’s glittering career reached new highs in 2018 as he won the World Matchplay for the first time to complete the Triple Crown of Darts as well as the UK Open and Champions League of Darts among his eight titles.

His World Matchplay triumph was sealed so memorably with a 21-19 victory over Mensur Suljovic in a pulsating final while he'd also hit a nine-dart finish in a thriller against Joe Cullen. Even in the events he didn't win such as the Grand Slam of Darts and the World Championship, he gave the fans no end of drama and excitement.

PDPA Players' Player of the Year

Winner: Michael Smith
Runner-up: Michael van Gerwen

Michael Smith enjoyed a breakthrough year which saw him reach finals of the World Championship, Premier League and World Series of Darts Finals.

Bully Boy was unable to lift the trophies in any of them but he did win three other titles, including the televised Shanghai Masters, and his performances overall showed he's on the brink of being a serial champion.

ProTour Player of the Year

Winner: Michael van Gerwen
Nominated: Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Ian White

Michael van Gerwen comfortably topped the ProTour Order of Merit in 2018 thanks to winning four of the 22 Players Championship events, eight European Tour events plus two of the UK Open Qualifiers. He also hit the European Tour's first nine-dart finish...

Young Player of the Year

Winner: Max Hopp
Nominated: Dimitri Van den Bergh, Jeffrey de Zwaan, Luke Humphries

Rising German star Max Hopp saw off his fellow nominees thanks to winning the German Open, a Players Championship event and also breaking into the top 32 for the first time.

Best Newcomer

Winner: Luke Humphries
Nominated: Danny Noppert, Ryan Joyce, Luke Humphries, Gabriel Clemens

Luke Humphries underlined his star potential at the World Championship where he stormed into the quarter-finals with a string of superb displays - including coming from two sets down to defeat defending champion Rob Cross.

The 23-year-old from Newbury also topped the Development Tour's Order of Merit for the second year running and there's no doubt he's one to watch.

"This is a massive award and shows how far I have come over the last year," said Humphries. "To beat the reigning World Champion at Alexandra Palace was unreal for me and now my goal is to carry on my development and continue to make a name for myself."

PDC Hall of Fame Inductee

Rod Harrington is the latest inductee into the Hall of Fame - not only due to his success during his playing days which saw him top the world rankings in the days of Phil Taylor and win the World Matchplay - but also his role in helping the Youth, Development and European Tours to flourish.

"I have to thank everyone for making the PDC what it is today and I am privileged to have played a role in our journey," said Harrington. "When I stopped playing darts the best thing I ever did was get involved in helping to run the PDC.

"The most important thing we did, and continue to do, is to invest in young players; they are the future of our great sport. It's been an incredible journey, I've had ups and downs in my career but when I see what the PDC has become I can say it was all worth it.

"Now I am excited by the future of the company as we continue to grow around the world with more and more players taking up the sport."

PDC Nine-Dart Club

Gold Pins (Televised Perfect Legs): Gary Anderson, Dimitri Van den Bergh

Silver Pins (Non-televised Perfect Legs): Robbie Green, Ian White, Michael van Gerwen (x3), Peter Jacques, John Goldie, Cameron Menzies, Jamie Lewis, Noel Malicdem, Steve Hine, Stephen Bunting, Nathan Aspinall, Dawson Murschell, Dennis Nilsson, Lee Turle, Simon Preston, Adrian Lewis, Vincent van der Voort, James Wade, Krzysztof Ratajski, Rowby-John Rodriguez, George Killington, Peter Hudson, Andrew Gilding, Jimmy Hendriks, Eddie Lovely

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