Michael van Gerwen shot down a reporter when he was asked about a “special” final against Luke Littler in Berlin on Thursday. The three-time world champion took Night 2 of the Premier League by beating the teenage sensation in a 6-5 thriller but played down the magnitude of his victory.
Littler reached his first Premier League final after 11-leg wins over Rob Cross and Luke Humphries, but an in-form Van Gerwen was waiting in Germany and the 17-year-old was made to wait for a first taste at winning the event.
He had a chance at glory in the deciding leg but let two darts slip at his favourite double-10, allowing Van Gerwen to check out. The Dutchman is attempting to defend his title from last year and was pleased with the win, but took an issue with the line of questioning afterwards.
When a reporter wanted Van Gerwen to describe his feelings after what was described as a “special” final, the 34-year-old interrupted and shot down the idea that the win was different to any other because it came against Littler.
“No, that’s not true,” Van Gerwen insisted. “It’s not special because we’re going to have finals like this another 10 times this year. We play each other so many times. Pro Tours, Euro Tours, whatever. So it’s not going to be special, but of course it’s important, we all know that and you have to play well if you want to be on top of the boys.”
Littler has brought a breath of fresh air to the tour and is the new player to beat. When asked if that had given his rivals added motivation in matches and pushed them to perform to a higher level, Van Gerwen paused and then replied: “Nah.
“In darts, it’s always good to have fresh blood or people who are in form, people who are in form always push the other players as well. That’s how darts goes in general, but of course everyone wants to put the pressure on Luke now but I don’t think that’s really fair on him.”
