Michael van Gerwen has doubled down on his rivalry with Luke Littler by calling the teenager’s Premier League Darts performance against him on Thursday ‘c**p’. Van Gerwen got revenge over Littler for his defeat in Manchester last week by beating him 6-3 in the final on night 11.
The Dutchman also bitterly responded when it was put to him that he was still “chasing” Littler, who remains top of the Premier League standings on 26 points. Van Gerwen said he is “150 tournaments” ahead of Littler and sarcastically wished the darts sensation good luck.
“I don’t have to chase anyone,” Van Gerwen responded to Sky Sports when reminded that Littler is ahead of him in the standings. “He has to chase me still. I’m about 150 tournaments in front of him, so good luck to him.”
Van Gerwen was also asked after the match what he made of Littler’s appearance in Forbes’s Under-30 Europe Class of 2024 list. The 34-year-old was keen to bring Littler back down to earth by calling his performance on Thursday ‘c***’.
“What he did and what he created for the sport of darts I think is phenomenal, but take it easy,” the three-time world champion said.
“With all the respect, he played c*** tonight and I beat him with a c*** game. That’s the reality of the moment. I’m happy with that, we need to move on to the next one.
It comes after Van Gerwen felt that Littler did not reach his usual high standards despite the Dutchman losing to the World Darts Championship runner-up on night 10 last week.
“It was a very bad match from both of us,” Van Gerwen told Viaplay on April 4. “The feeling was definitely not right with me. But actually I haven’t played a single really good game against him.
“With Luke it is often all or nothing against me as well, either he throws insanely well or he reaches such a level as he did today.
“I’m not in the best phase of my career at the moment and when you can still win matches like that it gives you the confidence you need. So it’s quite unfortunate that it didn’t work out tonight. I just have to take this defeat on the chin.”
Van Gerwen had claimed in a previous interview that Littler never looked “comfortable” while playing against him, to which the teenager responded: “Every time I’ve beaten Michael it’s been pretty comfortable, 6-2 or 6-3.
“When he’s beat me we’ve had to go to a last leg. But we know he’s not playing well. I’m just glad to get the better of him while he’s playing bad.”
