Michael van Gerwen ‘chokes’ Luke Littler as teenage sensation destroys him at Czech Open

Michael van Gerwen averaged more than 112 against Luke Littler in the quarter-finals of the Czech Open in Prague but still ended up on the wrong side of a 6-1 defeat

MIchael van Gerwen shared a photo of himself jokingly choking rival Luke Littler after the youngster got the better of him at the Czech Open.

Littler has already gone up against three-time world champion Van Gerwen on plenty of occasions during his young career. He beat the Dutchman to win the Bahrain Masters in January, but lost to the same opponent in the final of the Dutch Masters later that same month.

Both men entered the competition in the second round, with Littler seeded 10th and Van Gerwen 15th. After each claimed a pair of wins, they faced off in the quarter-final, but it was one-way traffic.

Van Gerwen averaged 112.19 in the quarter-final, more than Littler’s 110.57 and indeed higher than any other player at the quarter-final stage. And yet it was teenager Littler who came out on top by a 6-1 margin.

“This is not gonna happen again,” Van Gerwen posted on social media along with his posed ‘choking’ photo. “Fantastic game by @LukeTheNuke180 – what a talent. All the best.”

Littler wasn’t able to kick on after that win, though. He was beaten 7-4 by Luke Humphries in the semi-finals, with the reigning world champion setting up a meeting with surprise package Kim Huybrechts in the final.

A number of fans enjoyed watching Van Gerwen and Littler go head to head. “Quality darts from both” wrote one, with another saying: “Sensational darts, absolute theatre from two legendary players”.

Did you enjoy watching Van Gerwen and Littler battle it out? Have your say in the comments section

Littler opted against a change of darts ahead of the tournament and it worked to his advantage. He destroyed Nathan Aspinall in Prague, averaging above 110 in his 6-1 second round win, and followed that with a huge 116.51 average in a 6-3 victory over Damon Heta in round three on Sunday before his Van Gerwen meeting.

“I know what I can throw with these darts and that’s why I didn’t play with the gold ones,” Littler told Sky Sports after beating Aspinall. “There was load of talk about changing my darts so I’ve come here this weekend and made the decision to go back to what I know best, and they went well tonight.”

In the other half of the draw, Huybrechts – a late alternate – made a dream run to reach the final. After beating Luke Woodhouse on Saturday, he got the better of Pavel Drtil and Jermaine Wattimena before a nail-biting 7-6 victory over Niels Zonneveld in the semis.

The next event on the calendar is the European Open in Dortmund, which gets underway on October 24. Littler and Van Gerwen have both qualified for the tournament by virtue of their European Tour Order of Merit placings.