Michael van Gerwen gave an extremely honest assessment of his performance and that of Luke Littler after the 17-year-old produced a stunning performance to win the World Darts Championship
Michael van Gerwen called himself an “old b******” before heaping praise on Luke Littler after his remarkable win on Friday night.
Littler demolished the Dutchman 7-3 to become by far the youngest winner of the World Darts Championship. The 17-year-old not only out-classed Van Gerwen, he eclipsed his record as the youngest winner of the Sid Waddell Trophy from when he beat Peter Wright as a 24-year-old in 2014.
Littler fell at the final hurdle last year at Alexandra Palace when he was beaten by world No.1 Luke Humphries, but there never looked like being a repeat. He raced into a 4-0 lead and, although Van Gerwen fought back, he never got a foothold in the match.
Speaking to Sky Sports just minutes after Littler’s winning dart, the Green Machine was full of praise for his opponent. After dropping a swear word, which forced an apology to viewers, he said: “I’m 35, he’s 17. Every 17 years, a star gets born.
“He deserves it, he played well. It hurts, but that’s how it should be. If it doesn’t hurt, you’re not going to be a sportsman. I have to move on and make sure I keep playing better.”
Van Gerwen is one of the most experienced players on the circuit and has won the world championship on three occasions, yet he had no answer for Littler’s fast start. The Dutchman kept missing key doubles and was blown away inside 30 minutes.
“I went 4-0 behind and after that I thought I wasn’t doing myself any justice, but that’s the way it is,” he admitted.
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“You need to try to fight and battle back and I think after going 4-0 down, I was definitely not the worst player out of us. But fair play to him, every chance he got and every moment he had to hurt me, he did.
“I had a lovely tournament and I enjoyed every moment of it. We all know I’ve come from a far distance and I’ve been battling my own game, but at the beginning of the game I was letting myself down too much and when you do that against a player with his ability, you’re going to be in trouble.
“You have to take it on the chin, move on and walk off the stage as a champion. I always take my hat off to the people that beat me and if they beat me in a good game, fair play to them. That’s how sport works.”
Littler struggled to take in what he had achieved in the moments after his victory. He was overcome with emotion, but managed to get some words out after taking stock of his win.
“I can’t believe it. We both played so well,” he told Sky Sports. “I’ve said in interviews that I needed to get off to a quick start tonight and that’s what I did. But he was behind me the whole game, those cover shots – he’d hit two trebles and I’d have to come back with two or three.
“Everyone dreams of lifting this trophy. You’ve got to get through a tough field. I can’t believe it. I keep saying it but that first game against Ryan Meikle [in round two] was the one that really mattered, and throughout I’ve just settled.
“At 2-0 up [in the final set] I started getting nervous but I said to myself to just relax. I was throwing for the match and to get it over and done with then was special.”
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