Michael van Gerwen has told Luke Littler that he still has to “chase” him in a brutal cutdown after his latest Premier League success.
The pair went head-to-head once again on Thursday evening in Birmingham. The Dutchman secured a 6-3 success in the final to claim his fourth overall win of the campaign.
Van Gerwen’s success denied Littler his chance to make it a hat-trick of wins. The 17-year-old however still sits top of the table with 26 points.
His PDC World Championship foe Luke Humphries is just two points behind after three wins of his own, while Van Gerwen sits on 22. Despite the Dutchman being on the back foot, he insists that he is still the man to be caught.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Van Gerwen said: “I don’t have to chase anyone. He [Littler] has to chase me still. I’m about 150 tournaments in front of him so good luck to him.”
His brutal takedown of Littler continued after being asked about the youngster featuring in Forbes magazine. “He didn’t win anything, that’s the worst thing,” Van Gerwen joked.
“When people don’t win anything, they get in Forbes. What he did and what he created for the sport of darts is phenomenal but with all the respect, he played crap tonight and I bet him in a crap game, that’s the reality of the moment.”
Littler and Van Gerwen have now faced off on a number of occasions since the former’s breakout at the Alexandra Palace earlier this year. Each have claimed victory.
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Van Gerwen has opened up on his fluctuating fortune against the youngster, and believes he could have beaten him on a few more occasions. He added: “That’s going to happen in the Premier League, we’re going to play each other so often. You’re going to win two times and then you’re going to lose two times. That’s how it is.
“Last few times he’s played me, he’s played poorly. I could have I think won a few more games against him but when you don’t, you can only blame yourself. You need to make sure you do perform at the right moment and I think I did tonight even if I didn’t play my big game, I still did okay.”
Van Gerwen and Littler could renew rivalries in just a few days' time in their next Premier League assignment. The next night takes place in Rotterdam on Thursday.
Sharing his thoughts on social media ahead of that evening, Littler wrote: "Disappointed to not get win #3 after making the final but more points and still top. We go after it again next week in Rotterdam."
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