Few people have been able to get the better of Luke Littler this year, but Michael van Gerwen would have no worries if he comes across the teenager at Alexandra Palace
Michael van Gerwen has confidently claimed he can still beat Luke Littler at Alexandra Palace – even without reaching his best form.
The three-time PDC World Championship winner is one of few players who has a strong record against last year’s finalist. Van Gerwen has endured his worst darts campaign since 2011, but has still managed to record six victories in 12 meetings against the 17-year-old.
Littler is one of the favourites to lift the Sid Waddell trophy at Alexandra Palace. He memorably reached the final aged 16 years old last year, only to lose 7-4 to world No. 1 Luke Humphries in the final.
Yet, Littler has since won the Premier League at his first attempt and the Grand Slam of Darts, while also picking up two European Tour event triumphs. Nevertheless, Van Gerwen has shown his true character by expressing pure belief that he does not need to be playing well to secure one more vital win over Littler if they eventually meet in the final.
In an interview with PA, Van Gerwen said: “I have not been playing my best performances and I have still got a great record against him (Littler). Even when I am not playing my best, I know it is not easy to beat me, so I get a lot of motivation out of that.”
Van Gerwen, who can’t face Littler in the tournament until the final hurdle due to how the draw unfolded, will finish 2024 without a major televised tournament victory under his belt. He was also convincingly beaten in the Premier League darts semi-finals by Humphries, who swept the Dutchman aside 10-5.
Despite his frustrating year, Van Gerwen believes his slump will come to an end at Ally Pally. He added: “Of course, when you shake a bottle of milk, the cream always comes to the top.
“I have shown in the last 15 years what I am capable of. I have had tough moments before but I need to make sure I have 100 per cent belief I can do it. I have under-performed this year.
“My game is not in a good place, my results are nowhere near good enough but you need to be positive and make sure you keep your head up. You need to make sure you keep positive because if you are negative it is only going to work against me.”
Humphries kicked off his World Championship campaign with a ruthless victory over Thibault Tricole. ‘Cool Hand’ swept past the French challenger with a smooth 3-0 score-line, without dropping a single leg.
After the match, Humphries told Sky Sports: “It was not the best performance from myself. I didn’t feel like I was very clinical in moments. I’ll be honest, after the walk-on I was taken back a bit as the crowd were so amazing.
“That was honestly one of the best crowds I’ve ever been in a room with. They should all be really proud of themselves. They made me feel amazing and I don’t get that very often, so it was very nice.
“It wasn’t anywhere near my best, but I said in many interviews before that it’s two different tournaments. Now, you go into the second part of the tournaments and come back after Christmas and really think about being world champion.”
