Michael van Gerwen brutally played down the idea of a brewing rivalry with Luke Littler after beating the 17-year-old in the Premier League on Thursday. The pair have faced each other on a regular basis over the last few weeks, with Van Gerwen winning three times in a row.
Their latest meeting in Newcastle saw Van Gerwen come up trumps in the semi-finals before going on to beat Nathan Aspinall to extend his advantage at the top of the Premier League table. He was later quizzed on his impressive record against Littler but was quick to shut down the possibility of a rivalry developing between them, saying with a smile: “Not really, I keep beating him.”
Van Gerwen went on to explain: “No, he’s a phenomenal player, I know that. He has such a lot of talent and he has got a great career in front of him. But like I always say, get the pressure off him, don’t ask him too many stupid questions. Let him just enjoy what he does and it will make him a better player in the long run.”
Littler won his first game against Van Gerwen at last month’s Bahrain Masters but has since lost three in a row, with the Dutchman enjoying the upper hand in recent weeks. It remains to be seen if Littler will be able to exact revenge at the next opportunity, which could arrive on Thursday when the Premier League returns to Exeter.
Van Gerwen is now eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table, with opening night winner Michael Smith in second place on seven points. Littler currently sits third, also on seven points, but is yet to win a night on the series while Rob Cross completes the top four on six points.
Speaking after his final victory over Aspinall in Newcastle on Thursday night, Van Gerwen said: “First two legs I played poorly but it’s first to six and I never gave up. I feel confident and as long as I feel confident, I don’t care about the rest.
“I’m not going to give myself any targets. I’m going week by week, no targets, no goals, just keep focusing otherwise I get bored. At the moment, the plan works so hopefully I can keep going. Winning is the most important thing, as a darts player you don’t care about anything else.
“I don’t know how many nights I can win, I don’t want to give myself a target but it could be a record this year. At this time of year you need to keep your focus going and your motivation going. Everything is going well at the moment and I don’t care about the rest.”
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