Michael van Gerwen has paid an emotional tribute to Wayne Mardle's wife, Donna, who passed away on the eve of the World Darts Championship.

Mardle has been absent from Sky Sports' coverage of this year's tournament following the tragic news of his long-term partner's death at the age of 52, following a short illness.

Presenter Emma Paton made a statement on day one of the worlds with a tearful show of support for the darts legend-turned-pundit. "We will be remembering Donna throughout this tournament," she said. "Wayne, you are in our thoughts, in our hearts, we love you very much and we will see you very soon."

Van Gerwen also got choked up when, after his win over James Hurrell on Friday night, he was asked whether he had spoken to Mardle. The Dutchman joined the PDC in 2007, four years before four-time world semi-finalist Mardle retired. 

And their association stretches back long before MVG became a household name.

"The day I heard, I gave him a text," he said with tears in his eyes. "Of course. It's very sad. I've known him for a long time. The first time I met him was 22 years ago, when I was 13. That was the first time I met Wayne Mardle. And of course Donna was his life. It's really sad."

Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and Luke Humphries are also among those to have offered their condolences to Mardle and his family since the news of Donna's passing was made public.

Mardle has become a staple of Sky Sports' darts coverage in recent years, and a number of iconic moments have unfolded with him on the microphone, including Michael Smith's blockbuster nine-darter in the 2023 World Darts Championship final, when he famously shouted: "I can't speak!"

"Wayne is one of the top, top guys in the world and nobody deserves to go through this," said reigning world champion Humphries. "He has been with Donna since 14 years old, so it is a horrible, horrible thing for him to go through.

"Hopefully he knows all the players and the fans and everyone is here for him if he needs. Hopefully he can take his time away and reflect on the woman she was. I’ll send him a personal message myself, but I wanted to give him a bit of time to just come to terms with what has happened and hopefully he is OK."