Van Gerwen began playing darts at the age of 13. He won the 2006 World Masters and threw a televised nine-dart finish at the 2007 Masters of Darts, becoming the youngest player to do both, aged 17. However, after this initial burst onto the darting scene, van Gerwen struggled for consistent form until his breakthrough year in 2012. Improving from world number 38 at the start of 2012 to number four at the beginning of 2013, he won his first major PDC title at the World Grand Prix and reached the final at the 2013 World Championship. In 2014, at the age of 24, van Gerwen became the youngest winner of the PDC World Championship, a record he still holds today, as well as being one of only five players to win it more than once. He also holds the record for the highest three-dart average in a televised darts match, with 123.4.