From Pasports staff
23:13 January 27, 2024, updated 01:03 January 28, 2024

- Luke Littler directed a fighting performance with Michael van Gerwen
- The 17-year-old impressed again on Saturday night in an 8-6 defeat in the Netherlands.
- Littler reached the World Series final for the second year in a row with Van Gerwen.
Luke Littler’s bid to win back-to-back World Series titles was dashed by Michael van Gerwen in the final of the Dutch Darts Masters in Den Bosch.
Littler lost 8-6 to the three-time world champion, who lost to the 17-year-old in the final in Bahrain last weekend.
Nothing separated the pair after the first 12 legs, but Littler missed two darts at double eight, beating Van Gerwen’s throw and putting one foot away from the other title.
Instead, Van Gerwen narrowly closed the gap on one leg and needed just one chance to finish Littler with an 85 and end Littler’s winning streak.
Littler began his campaign on Saturday by seeking revenge on Luke Humphries, who rejected him in the world final at Alexandra Palace last month.
Littler trailed 4-2, but fought back and scored an 88 checkout on the bull for a dramatic 6-5 victory.
The Warrington player then booked his return to the World Masters final with a 7-4 victory over Gerwyn Price, who had missed out on a nine-dart double 12 in his last eight win over Kevin Dowetts.
In contrast, Van Gerwen looked below average in back-to-back wins against Raymond van Barneveld and Jan van Veen, but stepped up in critical moments.
Van Gerwen told ITVX: “This is what people want to see, but he put a lot of pressure on me.
“Luke Littler has a bright future, we all know that, but we still have to do the right thing with him. We have to keep fighting because his scoring ability is immense. .”