Michael van Gerwen won his first PDC World Championship on Wednesday evening with a thrilling 7-4 triumph over Peter Wright.

The victory capped off a fine few weeks for the Dutchman, but the 23-year-old's success wasn't the only memorable moment of an action-packed event.

Below, Sports Mole reviews the most notable moments of what has been one of the most entertaining tournaments in the competition's history.

Performance of the tournament

There are no doubts about the winner of this award, is there?

Defending champion Phil Taylor went into his match against Michael Smith as the 1/80 favourite, and after a dominant first set, he looked on course to record a whitewash victory.

However, after finishing 121 on the bull to level matters at 1-1, the world youth champion went toe to toe with the 16-time world titlist to take the encounter into a deciding set.

Taylor's experience was expected to pull him through, but Smith's relentless attack on the treble 20 helped him open up an advantage, and a 128 checkout from the 23-year-old completed one of the biggest shocks in the sport's history.

Moment of the tournament

The list of edge-of-your-seat moments continued to grow right up until Van Gerwen hit double 20 to win the title, but the most memorable moment of the tournament arguably came on just the second day.

Terry Jenkins had just hit a nine-darter against Per Laursen before exiting the competition, and it appeared unimaginable that a second perfect game could follow in the next encounter between Ian White and Australian qualifier Kyle Anderson.

However, there was something in the air on that remarkable Saturday afternoon, and out of nowhere, Anderson fired in two 180s before finishing 141 to earn himself a piece of World Championship history.

Biggest overachiever

Wright entered the tournament as one of the most improved players of 2013, but he wasn't expected to advance past the third round with Taylor scheduled to meet him in the last 16.

However, after Taylor was knocked out, Wright took full advantage to embark on a memorable run to the final, holding his nerve to come through last-set deciders with Michael Smith and Wes Newton.

He was expected to face his toughest test in the last four against Simon Whitlock, but Wright produced a display oozing with confidence to ease through to last night's final with Van Gerwen.

Biggest underachiever

This could go to a number of players, but Dave Chisnall would have been disappointed to be the biggest seed to fall in the opening round of the tournament against John Henderson.

The World Grand Prix runner-up didn't play badly against the Scot, but despite earning a place in the Premier League, the St Helens thrower has failed to build on his first appearance in a PDC major final.

Raymond van Barneveld would have also expected to make the last eight before losing to Mark Webster, while Kim Huybrechts will be regretting not being able to take advantage of Taylor's early elimination from the tournament.

Impact on the PDC Order of Merit

The most significant move in the PDC Order of Merit has seen Van Gerwen replace Taylor as the world number one.

Whitlock's run to the semi-finals has seen him overtake Adrian Lewis in third position, while Wright has stormed up to seventh position in the rankings.

Michael Smith has also established himself as a top-32 player by moving up to 30th position, giving him a £15,000 cushion over 33rd place.

On a negative note, Andy Hamilton's second-round exit has seen him fall down to 11th position after failing to defend the prize money that he won for making the final of this competition two years ago.