Luke Littler relishes renewed darts rivalry with resurgent Michael van Gerwen
World Champion reckons it's good to see Van Gerwen back in form and is he's ready for more scraps
Luke Littler has welcomed the resurgence of Michael van Gerwen and relishes another batch of battles with the Dutch hero.
The World Champion had to play second-fiddle in Amsterdam when the home hero sank him in the last game of the World Series of Darts Finals.
Littler, of course, bagged his first Ally Crown crown nine months ago when dumping Van Gerwen in the biggest game of the lot and the pair have enjoyed some excellent exchanges.
The teenager now believes even more regular scraps are incoming and appears excited for the fight as he said: “Michael was playing some of his best darts this weekend. It’s good to see him back.
"He’s had a tough time, but if he keeps playing like that, we’re going to have some great battles.”
Van Gerwen took care of World No.1 Luke Humphries as well as Littler on his way to the title and the significance did not escape him.
He said: “To beat the guys like Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Josh Rock in one day, it’s not the worst performance to be fair.
"You need to believe in yourself and I think I can do it. There’s so many big tournaments coming up and I need to make sure I’m ready for them. I’ve never been away.”
Van Gerwen had to stand firm against the teenage sensation during a terrific tussle in the showpiece and sealed the deal with a sizzling 130 finish.
He said: “Wow because I think it was a finish you need to get him because you don’t want to give him the confidence.
"Sometimes Luke can also have a moment where he’s hitting everything, so you need to make sure you keep on top of him, keep putting on the pressure.
“You could see he was dealing with the crowd, with his own performances as well. Then you need to make sure you do the right thing for yourself. That’s not always that easy, but you need to keep your focus. I think that’s the most important thing.
“You have to beat everyone if you want to win a tournament, whether it’s the first round or the last round, that doesn’t matter. You always have to be sharp regardless.
“I had to dig really deep to do this. I still love what I do and, hopefully, this is the beginning of a bright future for me.”
Van Gerwen also became the first man to win a PDC title beating both Littler and Humphries on the way and he responded: “Was I the first one? I will be the second and the third one as well.”
He got to hold a spanking new trophy and quipped: “You see, they knew I was going to win it. After the last five years, they did come with a good one!”