It’s rather unbecoming to talk about the earning power of another person.

But in sport, the prize money that the stars battle it out for is flaunted as a badge of honour – confirming that the years of personal sacrifice have all been worth it.

The total prize fund at the World Darts Championship is £2.5 million, with the winner banking £500,000. Michael van Gerwen, the former number-one ranked player on the planet, is a three-time world champion… and he’s decided to re-invest some of his earnings into a sublime collection of luxury watches.

Time to Play

According to the Paddy Power darts betting odds MVG, as he is known, is considered the most likely player to win the World Darts Championship in January.

He is the favourite in the PDC World Darts betting odds, ahead of Gerwyn Price (5/1), defending champion Michael Amith (7/1) and Luke Humphries (7/1).

Victory at London’s Alexandra Palace would be another handsome payday for the Dutchman – no doubt he will have his eye on a new timepiece or two to celebrate.

One of the prized pieces in his collection, which he has been filmed wearing during matches, is a Rolex from the James Cameron series of watches inspired by deep sea diving and adventuring – the 126660 D-Blue, to be precise. This extraordinary piece features domed sapphire crystal and a number of Rolex patents and innovations, while the green inscriptions on the dial are befitting a man that has become synonymous with the colour throughout his darting career… hence the ‘Green Machine’ nickname.

MVG has also showcased pieces from Hublot, TW Steel and a diamond-set Breitling in the past, with some of the watches in his collection valued at £35,000 apiece. So this is a man who knows his way around an oche and the world of luxury watches…

The Time is Wright

In one of the PDC World Championship finals that he didn’t win in 2020, Van Gerwen found himself up against an old adversary in Peter Wright.

The pair have had plenty of ding-dong battles over the years, but when they went head-to-head in that World final it wasn’t just darts in which they were duking it out.

The millions of TV viewers would have been having watch envy as Wright defeated MVG in the darts and potentially – depending on your tastes – in the watch stakes too.

The Scotsman had donned a unique black-and-bronze Nautica for the tournament; a chunky yet elegant piece that matches the flamboyant player’s colourful personality. Considered a dangerous outsider for the 2024 edition of the Worlds, Wright might be eyeing another luxury purchase in the near future.

These darting world champions certainly know their watches. Adrian Lewis, a former two-time world champ, is evidently a fan of a luxury timepiece – he has been snapped wearing a Rolex Explorer 2 and a piece from the Daytona collection, while another dual world champion in Gary Anderson also owns a Daytona.

You might not have thought it likely, but the worlds of elite darts and luxury watches have collaborated on a number of occasions.