Michael van Gerwen is once again the champion of the darts world.The Dutchman has become only the second player after Phil Taylor to lift the sport's highest honour on three separate occasions.In truth, the Green Machine was simply head and shoulders above the competition, beating Michael Smith 7-3 in a rather one-sided final.Van Gerwen also demolished Gary Anderson in the semi-final and there's no denying that he is the best in the world.At this rate, the Dutchman stands a chance of eclipsing Taylor as the greatest of all time.Smith's tournament was certainly a memorable one as well, with the man from St Helens recording memorable victories over Nathan Aspinall and Ryan Searle.It seems only a matter of time until Bully Boy is the one lifting the trophy.Smith appeared very emotional on stage after the loss to Van Gerwen and the 28-year-old posted an emotional tweet about the match.

SMITH'S TWEET

https://twitter.com/BullyBoy180/status/1080250050524205056

Smith wrote: "I’m so sorry I feel like I let everyone down but I tried to grab my dream to hard and blew it 😢."

Fair play, Michael.

In truth, Smith just couldn't match Van Gerwen, with the Dutchman racing into a 4-0 lead early on with an average of 102.21, producing 14 maximums as well.

After the game, Van Gerwen explained how he's confident that his opponent will one day be named champion.

"I was a little bit nervous but my body was pumping and I wanted to play better - but Michael is a phenomenal player," Van Gerwen told said, per BBC. "It was a difficult match, but it doesn't matter how you win.

"He always makes it hard for me, he is a good player and one day he will lift this trophy."

Both players will now have a well-deserved break, before participating in the 10-player Premier League in February,