Van Gerwen begins the defence of his crown when the William Hill World Championships start tomorrow having become a father in the summer with the birth of daughter Zoe.

And as MVG, 28, takes to the oche looking to win the title for the third time, this tournament will always be remembered as the farewell of Phil Taylor, who at 57 is retiring from competitive darts.

It is also special being the 25th staging of the PDC world championships.

Van Gerwen said: “Phil Taylor made darts. Everyone who plays now, and competes for huge prize money, owes their career to Phil. That’s not just being realistic, it’s the truth.

“At this moment we don’t need him any more because darts won’t go down without him but he built the empire. He did really good for everyone.

“I don’t feel any responsibility to carry that on because darts is so big now it is bigger than one person.

“I don’t think his records will be broken because I won’t be playing as long as him!”

A record £400,000 is on offer to the winner of New Year’s Day final at the Ally Pally in North London, proof of the astonishing rise of darts as the first PDC world champion Dennis Priestley banked £16,000 in 1994.

Van Gerwen faces a tricky opener when he meets fellow Dutchman Christian Kist, the 2012 BDO world champion.

Taylor, the 16-times world champion and a grandfather of seven, plays his first match on Friday night against World No 38 Chris Dobey.

But it has been an amazing time for Van Gerwen since wife Daphne gave birth in August.

He said: “She’s fantastic. She falls asleep about 10.30 at night and sleeps through until maybe nine or 10 the next morning. I can’t complain.

“Being a father gives you more responsibility and it changes your life. It was all a bit different at the beginning but I am back on track now.

“I don’t find it too hard being away a lot because I knew that was going to happen, and with Facetime and Skype and all those things, I can still see Zoe every day wherever I am in the world.”

Van Gerwen has taken over Taylor’s mantle as World No 1 in stunning style and this year alone he has won six majors led off by defeating Gary Anderson 7-3 in January’s world final.

He is the man the rest have to beat and said: “There will be a dartboard on my back with a big bullseye everyone wants to hit.

“I am the defending champion, the World No 1 and I have to be ready for my opponents to try and find something extra. It’s normal that they will raise their game against me.

“I don’t care about the pressure because most of the time I play my best when I am under pressure.”

Though he knows his rivals could be outwitted before a dart is thrown as they greet each other on stage.

Van Gerwen said: “When I shake someone’s hand I like them to feel scared. I am only scared of my wife, no one else.”

***** The William Hill World Darts Championship will be broadcast live on the Sky Sports Darts channel from 14 December–1 January.