Michael van Gerwen after what has been a phenomenal 2022 darting campaign, will be on the hunt for his fourth World Title come January 3rd as he goes into the Cazoo 2023 World Darts Championship as the favourite.
The Dutchman beat Chas Barstow in his opening First Round match last year but was forced to withdraw from the tournament after returning a positive COVID Test, giving opponent Chris Dobey a BYE into the Last 16.
The Winmau man has shown the spells of dominance he was capable of when he was the World Number 1, claiming four PDC major televised titles including his 7th Players Championship Finals and a 6th World Grand Prix.
Mighty Mike ended a six year wait for Blackpool glory, beating 2021 World Champion Gerwyn Price 18-14 to make it a hat trick of Phil Taylor trophies.
Van Gerwen displayed many never say die moments throughout his Winter Gardens campaign, coming from behind to beat the Iceman 18-14 in the Final and Dimitri van den Bergh 17-14 in the Semis.
The 33-year-old despite not coming top of the Premier League table, tasted glory in Germany winning his 6th Premier League title, despite surviving match darts from debutant Joe Cullen in the Final.
MVG claimed a last leg decider (11-10) at the Mercedes Benz Arena, Berlin to win £275,000 in prize money, in a year where the PDC introduced the new format for the tournament.
The World Number 3 will be hoping to end his World Championship drought, having not got his hands on the Sid Waddell trophy since 2019. Van Gerwen beat Michael Smith in the Final at the Ally Pally, and many believe those two could well meet in the Final on January 3rd with the two Michael’s on different sides of the draw.
Van Gerwen will open his 2023 campaign a week after the tournament gets underway, facing the winner of compatriot Niels Zonneveld and youngster Lewy Williams taking part in his second Ally Pally campaign.
The Cazoo World Darts Championship gets underway on December 15th with defending champion Peter Wright headlining the opening night, facing the winner of Micky Mansell and Ben Robb in the last match on Thursday night.
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Images: PDC
