MICHAEL VAN GERWEN has pledged to donate £100 to charity for every 180 he hits during the 2018 Unibet Premier League.

The world number one has nominated Make-A-Wish Foundation as the recipient of his generous idea, with the funds to be divided between the UK and Dutch versions of the charity.

Make-A-Wish exists to grant magical wishes to enrich the lives of children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions.

Van Gerwen, who begins the defence of his Premier League title against Rob Cross in Dublin on Thursday, will raise funds by firing in maximums during the 16-week tournament.

“I thought it would be nice to use my talent to do something good for others,” said Van Gerwen, who landed 54 180s in last year’s Premier League.

“It is a way of me combining Darts with a good cause and every 180 will be a little more special knowing that it will be helping people.

“It won’t affect my game because I will, of course, switch to other trebles when it makes sense.

“I’m really proud to be able to do this for Make-A-Wish and am looking forward to hitting lots of 180s for them.”

In response to Van Gerwen’s kind offer, Premier League title sponsors Unibet have announced their commitment to donate £100 for every 180 and 177 hit by the Dutchman during his campaign to Be Gamble Aware – the charity committed to minimising gambling-related harm.

Van Gerwen added: “It is fantastic of Unibet to get involved in this too. It was lovely to see that they had taken on this idea and I’ll do my best to makes sure they are writing out a big cheque at the end of the season.”

The Unibet Premier League begins on Thursday 1 February in Dublin and concludes on Thursday 17 May at London’s O2 after a 16 week tour of some of the UK and Europe’s biggest arenas, including visits to Rotterdam and Berlin.