Michael van Gerwen says Luke Littler ‘has to chase me still’ after ending losing run in Premier League Darts.
“I’m about 150 tournaments in front of him, so good luck to him,” says Van Gerwen of Littler after Night 11 win; watch Premier League Darts live on Sky Sports every Thursday night up until the Play-Offs at London’s O2 on May 23 – MVG’s home Rotterdam event next up.
Michael van Gerwen insisted Luke Littler still “has to chase me” after he reignited his Premier League Darts campaign with victory over the 17-year-old to win Week 11 in Birmingham.
After claiming three consecutive night wins from week two to week four at the start of the new season, Van Gerwen won only one match across the next six weeks – a run which included three defeats to Littler.
But the seven-time Premier League Darts champion hit back on Thursday in a 6-3 final triumph to deny Littler a record-equalling third night win in succession.
Littler still leads the table on 26 points, two clear of Luke Humphries and four ahead of Van Gerwen, before next week’s event on ‘The Green Machine’s’ home soil in Rotterdam.
Asked how it felt to be chasing Littler at the top of the table, Van Gerwen replied: “I don’t have to chase anyone. He has to chase me still.
“What he did and what he created for the sport of darts I think is phenomenal, but take it easy,” said three-time world champion.
“With all the respect, he played cp tonight and I beat him with a cp game that’s the reality of the moment.
“I’m happy with that, we need to move on to the next one.”
Van Gerwen also played down his recent losing run to the teenager having been defeated in the quarter-finals on Night Seven in Nottingham (6-2), the semi-finals on Night Nine in Belfast (6-3), and then again in the quarters at last week’s Night 10 in Manchester (6-3).
“That’s going to happen in this Premier League,” said van Gerwen. “We are going to play each other so often, you are going to lose two times, then you’re going to win two times, that’s the way it is.
“But the last few times he played me he played poorly, and I could I think have won a few more games against him.