Luke Littler defeated Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price, but lost 8-6 to Michael van Gerwen in the Dutch Darts Masters final. Watch the 2024 Premier League darts season starting in Cardiff live on Sky Sports every Thursday from 1 February
by Ali Stafford
Saturday 27 January 2024, UK, 22:50
Michael van Gerwen denied teenage sensation Luke Littler a second successive World Series title after scoring an 8-6 win in the remarkable Dutch Darts Masters final.
Littler survived the deciding final leg, defeating Luke Humphries, just as he did in this month’s dramatic World Championship final, then defeated Gerwyn Price 7-4 to advance to the World Series final for the second consecutive week. did.
The 17-year-old will once again face van Gerwen, who overcame scares against Raymond van Barneveld and Jan van Veen to reach the final, with the Dutchman avenging his loss at last week’s Bahrain Darts Masters. He won the title in his home country.
Littler outscored his opponents with an average of 106.71 points, outscoring Van Gerwen in the 180s, but the three-time major champion fought through a close battle to lift the trophy at De Maerspoort in Den Bosch.
Van Gerwen denies Littler further glory
The first two legs were slow, but van Gerwen lost three legs but immediately broke back with a stunning 11 darter, finishing with a 78 on D12 to open up a 3-2 lead.
Littler continued to change legs and was on top with a 104 checkout for a 12-dart hold, while Van Gerwen took a 5-4 lead with a well-timed 130 finish after being put under pressure by the teenager. did.
Littler missed a bullseye chance in the 11th leg, but then won with 14 darts, but after missing two darts to beat the Dutchman’s throw on D8, Van Gerwen’s 13 in the 13th leg Punished with a dart leg.
The event was in dire straits going into the deciding final leg, with Littler scraping the bull’s eye wire as he chased the ‘big fish’ finish, but Van Gerwen grabbed an 85 finish and secured victory with a 12 darter. was given the punishment.
Littler: In the end, MVG saved me!
luke littler In an interview with ITV: “I put pressure on him and tried to, but he never missed! The crowd was great, they want Michael to win and I understand that. But how many times did I hit 140 seconds? At the end, he finally caught me.”
“I hope I’m not burnt out for next week’s Premier League! I can’t wait to go to Cardiff.”
Michael van Gerwen told ITV: ”We all know Luke Littler has a bright future ahead of him. His scoring ability is immeasurable. He doesn’t care about anything and does what he likes. I think that’s a good thing. It was a great tournament.
“I needed my best performance. We all know that last year I had a really tough match and underperformed a lot of times. I need to make sure I don’t lose my fighting spirit.”
A dramatic day in Den Bosch
Van Gerwen earlier came back from a 5-2 deficit to snatch victory in the quarter-finals against Van Barneveld, finishing 144 and breaking throws on the 12-dart leg, then taking 124 darts in the decider. Littler also had to figure out the last leg. Off Humphreys.
Littler broke Humphries with a 105 checkout and, despite losing the next four legs, hit three consecutive 14 darters to take a 5-4 lead, bouncing back from wasting three match darts in the 10th leg. I hit the bullseye with an 88 checkout. Next.
Price made six maximum shots in a 6-3 victory over Kevin Deuts, clinching a spot in the semifinals. There he opened with eight perfect darts on the penultimate leg, missing out on D12, but Jan van Veen won the first five legs. Same difference against Danny Knoppert.
Littler never trailed in his matches against Price, converting only 4 of 16 doubles, and the Englishman won his third straight game, pitching an average of 98.21 and defeating the Iceman for the second consecutive week in the semi-final stage. .
Van Gerwen also struggled to finish against Van Veen, missing 18 of his 25 attempts, but despite being broken by his compatriot in the eighth leg, he won the next three and won 7-4. The confrontation with Littler has been confirmed.
What’s next for Humphries and Littler?
Littler and Humphries only had to wait until Thursday to meet again, with the pair wrapping up their quarter-final match at the BetMGM Premier League opener in Cardiff.
Reigning champions Van Gerwen begin his bid for an eighth Premier League title, extending his record by taking on last year’s world champion Michael Smith, while Peter Wright takes on Rob Cross and Price faces Nathan Fight against Aspinall.
See how MVG won a record-breaking seventh Premier League title in style at London’s O2 last May.
The Premier League consists of 16 mini-events during the regular season for players to earn points, with each league night consisting of quarter-finals, semi-finals and a best-of-11 leg final.
Players will earn two points for each semi-final appearance, three points for each runner-up and five points for each final victory, with the top four finishers throughout the season advancing to the play-offs on Thursday 23 May at the O2 in London. . .
Premier League Darts returns to Sky Sports on Thursday, February 1, as Cardiff begin a 17-week extravaganza leading up to the play-offs on Thursday, May 23.Stream darts and more on Sky Sports with no contract now