Sunday 3 December 2017 17:05, UK
Michael van Gerwen came close to darting immortality by nailing 17 perfect darts during a memorable victory over James Wade at the World Darts Championship in 2013.
The Dutch ace was already on his way to becoming one of the all-time greats of the game, but back-to-back nine-darters were the order of the day on the Alexander Palace oche.
Wade was the unwitting victim as Mighty Mike landed 180, 177 and finished 144 with double 12 in the third leg of the fifth set to send the packed auditorium into delirium.
With the Aldershot thrower looking to close the gap to one set against the new kid on the block, Van Gerwen duly stepped on the afterburners and immediately nailed another eight perfect arrows in the next leg to set up the chance of making yet more history.
But with the anticipation reaching a crescendo, the 23-year-old missed double 12 by a millimetre. Nobody could quite believe what they had witnessed!
Van Gerwen roared on to cement a final spot against Phil Taylor, where he suffered defeat.
Sit back and watch a masterclass of darting delight by the No 1 on planet darts by clicking on the video above...
The 2018 World Championship from Alexandra Palace starts on Thursday, December 14 and ends New Year's Day.
Keep up to date with the news as the PDC celebrates 25 years on Sky Sports. So get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts - don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts
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