Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson were forced to share the top award at last nights PDC Awards dinner at the Dorchester. Since the inception of the event in 2007, this is the first time that more than one player has won the award for their achievements over a calendar year.

GARY ANDERSON

PIC 1: COURTESY OF LAWRENCE LUSTIG, GARY ANDERSON LIFTING THE PREMIER LEAGUE IN MAY.

Gary Anderson has won arguably the two biggest event of the year, following his maiden World Championship win in 2015, he followed that up with a semi-final appearance in the Masters, losing out to Raymond van Barneveld. Then he defeated Phil Taylor 7-5 in a re-run of the World final in his first Premier League match.

In the UK Open he missed match dart after match dart before losing to Mervyn King 9-8. He responded to that set back with some fashion in the premier league finishing third and beating Phil Taylor for the second time in the league phase to ensure he would not qualify for the play-offs for the first time. When it came to the play-offs Dave Chisnall was leading at all times and had 3 match darts to win 10-8, Anderson prevailed 10-9 in the decider and faced World Number 1 Michael van Gerwen in the final.

In an eagerly anticipated premier league final clash against MVG didn’t failed to disappoint with both players averaging over 104 in a high quality encounter which Anderson edged 11-7.

He then teamed up with Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright for the World Cup of Darts in Germany, defeating the dutch duo of van Barneveld and van Gerwen, they couldn’t quite beat the English pair of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis in a high quality affair.

Anderson then suffered an early exits from the next two major tournaments with a second round defeat to Mensur Suljovic in the Matchplay in a midnight magic affair and then to Ian ‘diamond’ White in the double in-double out last 16 exit in Ireland.

Anderson then returned to form big time at the European Darts Championship in Germany by reaching his third major final of 2015 only to be edged out by MVG 11-10 having led 10-7. Then more early exit were to pursue until the end of the year and a return to Alexandra Palace.

ANDERSON RETAINS THE WORLD CROWN.

Gary Anderson admitted that he was full of nerves ahead of his first round encounter at the World Championships against Andy Boulton, if he was nervous he didn’t look like it producing a 99 average in a commanding 3-0 rout.

Daryl Gurney provided a much sterner test for the World Champ and if it weren’t for missed doubles by the Irish man then he could have dethroned Anderson, but Gary punished those crucial errors with another 99 average to make his way into round 3.

On paper we all felt that Vincent van der Voort would give Anderson a real push, however it was the ‘flying scotsman’ who pushed aside the ‘Dutch Destroyer’ with Vincent winning just 1 leg in a 12-1, 4-0 win.

James Wade was considered as one of the main players for the title and we felt as if again we were in for a humbdinger and yet again we were disappointed as Wade never turned up with an 89 average and Gary smashing him 5-1 to cruise through to the semis.

Jelle Klaasen came though an open quarter to try and win his second World crown, but didn’t get a look in against a red-hot Anderson who hit a 9-darter during the first set of the match. For most parts of the match we felt that Phil Taylor’s World Championship average record would be broken, however couldn’t quite maintain but made his second consecutive World final.

Another clash against Adrian Lewis in the World final and a excellent opportunity to exact revenge on Lewis for the defeat he inflicted on Anderson in the 2011 World Final. Exact revenge he did with high scoring, high checkouts, some miscounts and a 170 finish in the penultimate leg of the final for Anderson who joined the list of Bristow, van Barneveld and Lewis himself in a list of people who retained the World Championship after winning it for the first time.

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN

PIC 2: REUTERS, MVG lifting the Grand Slan of Darts trophy.

Since Anderson took van Gerwen’s World crown he came back in 2015 with a vengance as he won the Unibet Masters with ease, demolishing dutch compatriot Raymond van Barneveld in the final 11-6. Then van Gerwen was untouchable for the first three months of the year winning nearly every tournament that he played in.

Van Gerwen’s second major success of the year came in March when he defeated Paul Nicholson, Paul Hogan, Kim Huybrechts, Devon Petersen, Andrew Gilding and Peter Wright to lift the trophy for the first time in his career.

Following defeat in the premier league final and a World cup semi final exit, he then had his eyes firmly set on the World Matchplay and won that in enthatic style defeating Benito van de Pas, Jamie Lewis, Ian White, Peter Wright and defeating James Wade to lift the crown that he came so close to winning the year before.

At the World Grand Prix in Ireland he looked seemingly untouchable until he ran into a revved up Robert Thornton who bought the crowd onto his side which clearly effected MVG as he missed continuous doubles as ‘The Thorn’ won the third TV major of his career.

After being 10-7 down to Gary Anderson in the European Darts Championship final he then produced a magical spell of form to somehow defeat Gary Anderson in Belgium.

Then to Wolverhampton and for van Gerwen, the final part of the PDC jigsaw to win the Grand Slam drawn in a group with Kim Huybrechts, Steve West and Mark Oousterhuis in the group finishing 1st, then dismantling Steve Beaton and Kim Huybrechts, giving Michael Smith a toweling in the semi finals before beating Phil Taylor in a tight tussle to win the crown.

Then at the World series his biggest test came in a tight final which nobody could predict, as Peter Wright came back from 5-0 down only to be Edged out by van Gerwen to win yet another major in 2015.

Then to round of 2015 he took the final TV major as he swept aside the competition and Adrian Lewis to win the Players Championship finals.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DISAPPOINTMENT

 Michael van Gerwen was almost on the other end of what would have been the biggest shock in the history of Darts as Renee Eidams gave MVG the fright of his life as he took him to a tiebreak situation in the final set of the match. In the second round he dismantled poor Darren Webster with an 105 average.

The match he will be remembered by at this World championships will be that narrow 4-3 defeat to Raymond van Barneveld in one of the World Championships greatest ever matches which he again averaged 105.

CONCLUSION

These two players were by far the best players of the year but the other awards of the night was as follows:

Best ProTour Player: Michael van Gerwen

Televised Performance of the Year: Robert Thornton (partypoker.com World Grand Prix final v Michael van Gerwen)
Nominated
James Wade (BetVictor World Matchplay semi-final v Phil Taylor)
Michael van Gerwen (Unibet European Championship final v Gary Anderson)
Gary Anderson (William Hill World Darts Championship semi-finals v Jelle Klaasen)

Best Newcomer: Alan Norris
Nominated
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Andy Boulton
Jeffrey De Zwaan

PDC Fans’ Player of the Year: Gary Anderson

PDPA Players’ Player of the Year: Michael van Gerwen

PDC Young Player of the Year: Michael Smith
Nominated
Benito van de Pas
Jamie Lewis
Max Hopp

PDC Player of the Year: Michael van Gerwen & Gary Anderson
Nominated
Phil Taylor
Adrian Lewis

Nine-Dart Club
Gold Pin Badges (Televised Nine-Darter): Phil Taylor, Dave Chisnall, Gary Anderson
Silver Pin Badges (Non-Televised Nine-Darter): Alan Norris (x2), Dyson Parody, Andrew Gilding, Simon Whitlock, Ian White (x2), Kyle Anderson, Nathan Derry, Jeffrey De Zwaan, Cristo Reyes (x2), Darren Johnson, Benito van de Pas, Matt Dicken, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Devon Petersen, James Wade, Peter Wright, Ian White, Max Hopp, Magnus Caris, Simon Preston, Kim Huybrechts, Jamie Lewis, Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor

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