Analysis | Ten years of Michael van Gerwen in numbers: From unprecedented peak in 2016 to more difficult recent seasons

Michael van Gerwen has been among the absolute best within the PDC for more than a decade. In his career, the Dutchman has, to date, won a total of 49 Major Titles, including the PDC World Darts Championship three times. DartsOrakel added the annual averages of 'Mighty Mike' over the past 10 years, as well as his position on the Tour. What stands out is that his average is slowly dropping a bit each year.

2016 was by far the best campaign of Van Gerwen's career. The Dutchman took virtually every title there was to win. He won the World Masters, the Premier League of Darts, the UK Open, the World Matchplay, the World Series of Darts Finals, the World Grand Prix, the European Championship, the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship Finals. He then concluded his year in style by winning the PDC World Darts Championship for the second time. He also managed to win two World Series tournaments and six Euro Tour events, eventually ending that year with an annual average of 102.44 and as No. 1 on the Tour.

Although 2016 was his most successful year, he recorded his highest annual average of the past 10 years a year later in 2017. In that year, Van Gerwen also managed to win no fewer than six Majors. He also captured the World Cup of Darts together with Raymond van Barneveld, won another two World Series titles and won five Euro Tour tournaments. This brought him to an annual average of 103.25, and of course, he was also the No. 1 on the Tour.

A year later would be the last time his annual average exceeded 100. In fact, he ended 2018 with an average of 101.52. In that year, he managed to win "only" three majors with the World Masters, the Premier League of Darts and the World Grand Prix, but also became world champion for the third time. This was his most successful year on the European Tour, where he won no fewer than eight tournaments, and in 2019, he picked up another six Majors, as well as winning four Euro Tour tournaments. This made him more successful than the year before, but he still ended his year with a lower average of 99.40.

Slow decline begins

From 2020, Van Gerwen's dominance waned slightly. He won two more majors that year with the Players Championship Finals and the UK Open, but would not win a single Euro Tour or World Series tournament. He finished that year with an average of 99.18. A year later, things got even worse in terms of prizes. For the first time since 2011, exactly ten years earlier, he did not win a single major. He did not manage to finish a European Tour weekend in celebration either. His only title that year came on the World Series, where he managed to win the Nordic Darts Masters.

2022 became another better year for the Dutchman. He won four more majors with the Players Championship Finals, the Premier League of Darts, the World Grand Prix and the World Matchplay. He also won one World Series tournament and took another three titles on the Euro Tour. Still, his annual average dropped slightly again to 98.32. A year later his annual average remained relatively unchanged at 98.29, but he did lose his No. 1 position on the Tour for the first time in years.