Michael Van Gerwen of the Netherlands is a three-time darts world champion and currently ranked third in the world.

He's been playing competitively since before he was a teenager.

What You Need To Know

  • The PDC US Darts Masters are Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4 at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden

  • Some of the world's top players are participating in the event

  • Darts is a popular spectator sport in places like Europe and Australia and growing in the United States

"At town halls where they have tournaments for kids and all that, and then you find out you are a better player than your colleagues or your friends," said Van Gerwen, who was winning men's tournaments when he was just 15 years old.

He is one of the top players taking aim at the title in the US Darts Masters at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Darts may be best known in the states as a pub or rec room game, but it has a tremendous worldwide following. Van Gerwen and opponents with nicknames like Snakebite even have their own dart endorsements.

New York City darts expert instructor Dax Munna says it's a big deal to have these players in town for a major tournament, promoted by the Professional Darts Corporation, or PDC.

"The fact that the PDC has now come to the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, is really putting this in a huge national spotlight for America, to the likes that I think it's really going to grow," said Munna.

After a little coaching from Munna, someone decided it would be a good idea for me to play against Van Gerwen, which didn't end well for me of course.

It was fun though, and Munna says, with a little work, anyone can up their game of darts.

"If you can get the dart to the board, you can learn to do so accurately," said Munna.

For more on the tournament, head here.