Michael van Gerwen ‘takes revenge’ and dumps Luke Littler out in ‘all-timer’

Michael van Gerwen has spoiled Luke Littler’s Premier League of Darts title defence, beating him on night one in Belfast despite a 113.91 average from the World Champion

Luke Littler posted a 113.91 average, and it still wasn’t enough to stop Michael van Gerwen.

The Dutchman’s revenge tour continues, after he beat The Nuke in the World Series of Darts, after Littler claimed the Paddy Power World Darts Championship.

Littler went into the first night of the Premier League of Darts as the defending champion, nailing a nine-darter en route to beating Luke Humphries in last year’s final.

And his defence opened with a rematch of the World Championship final. Both men were in stunning form, but it was Mighty Mike that came out on top in what fans are calling an ‘all-timer’.

“Look at the averages from Luke Littler’s last 4 losses, it’s genuinely mind blowing,” one fan posted, before adding: “My head would be on Mars, that’s mental!”

“Not sure how Luke Littler is such a good loser at 18. I’m 33 and would be spitting feathers if I kept losing with a higher average,” a second joked. While a third said: “Ridiculous game of darts. Littler’s arrival has driven the standards!”

And another added: “That was an all-timer!”

Ahead of the game, Van Gerwen had slammed Littler for sleeping in: “They need to stop treating him as a baby. He’s not a baby anymore, he’s 18-years-old.

“It happens. He has to learn. You have to learn the hard way. It’s a professional sport so you have to be responsible for your actions, simple as that.

“If he turns up late for an interview, I don’t really mind. But seven other people were waiting for him, that’s not really nice. But it is what it is.”