Twelve matches, six wins every. Luke Littler vs Michael van Gerwen has turn out to be a box-office match over the past 12 months and the rivalry will attain its crescendo on Friday within the World Championship ultimate.
Littler’s meteoric rise on the 2024 World Darts Championship, the place he completed runner-up to Luke Humphries, has been backed up with the Premier League, World Collection of Darts Finals and Grand Slam of Darts ultimate titles.
Van Gerwen, in the meantime, didn’t win a televised match in 2024, which is the primary time he has not received in a calendar yr since 2011.
Friday’s ultimate is by far a very powerful assembly between the pair, as Van Gerwen seeks a fourth world title and Littler a primary.
So, how did we get right here?
Littler places down a marker however MVG responds
Two weeks after final yr’s World Darts Championship, Littler made a nine-darter in his quarter-final win in opposition to Nathan Aspinall on the Bahrain Darts Masters and met Van Gerwen within the ultimate on January 19.
It was the primary of many conferences between two of darts’ most proficient gamers and Littler got here out on high 8-5 to elevate his first senior PDC title on his World Collection debut.
Van Gerwen vowed to be higher for the subsequent time the pair met; that he would “get” Littler. He did precisely that only a week afterward residence soil on the Dutch Darts Masters.
An exciting ultimate noticed each gamers going toe-to-toe and there was nothing to separate them till the final leg when Van Gerwen punished a missed 170 from Littler to win 8-6.
“Luke put me under so much pressure,” mentioned Van Gerwen, who received his sixteenth World Collection of Darts crown.
“Luke has a very bright future ahead of him. We all know that, but you still want to stop him, and you have to do the right things against him, which is what I did tonight.
“His scoring energy is immense so it’s a must to carry on preventing, however I’m glad that I used to be in a position to.”
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Michael van Gerwen edged Luke Littler 6-5 in a dramatic last-leg decider on evening two of Premier League Darts
Massive Premier League clashes
The format of the Premier League Darts means the world’s finest eight gamers meet each Thursday over 17 weeks, so naturally we’d see loads of Van Gerwen vs Littler.
On Night time 2 in early February, Littler missed two match darts within the Berlin ultimate and Van Gerwen punished him to win 6-5 and set free an enormous roar when he received, underlining how a lot it meant for the Dutchman to beat {the teenager}.
Two weeks later in Newcastle, Van Gerwen snatched victory once more from Littler in a deciding leg, this time within the semi-finals, and he went on to win the evening.
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Luke Littler missed a fist-bump from Michael van Gerwen to depart him awkwardly hanging throughout their Premier League semi-final in Newcastle in February. Their rivalry will probably be reunited on the the World Matchplay!
Nonetheless, the subsequent three matches went Littler’s means. On Night time 7 in Nottingham, Littler averaged a sensational 114 with a surprising 6-2 quarter-final victory over Van Gerwen. That was the match the place Van Gerwen “finished off” Littler’s nine-darter try.
Littler took full benefit of a below-par Van Gerwen with two 6-3 wins over the approaching weeks, however the Dutchman received Night time 11’s ultimate with a 6-3 win of his personal.
The final Premier League assembly was received by Van Gerwen 6-1, however Littler in the end received the entire thing as MVG misplaced within the semi-finals to Humphries.
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The Shepmates are again with one other hilarious commentary, this time on Luke Littler’s 9 darter within the Premier League
Van Gerwen stuns Littler at World Matchplay
Van Gerwen and Littler drew one another within the first spherical of the World Matchplay and it was, surprisingly, a one-sided contest.
The three-time world champion knocked Littler out 6-1 however misplaced to Humphries within the ultimate.
Littler received the higher of Van Gerwen within the World Collection of Darts semi-finals and on the European Tour, so he has the higher latest kind.
Trying on the greater moments although, Van Gerwen has an edge and that could possibly be necessary on Friday.
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The perfect motion from the ultimate batch of matches of spherical one on the World Matchplay Darts from Winter Gardens, Blackpool
What do Van Gerwen and Littler consider one another?
Michael van Gerwen:
“I think he’s great. What he’s done for the sport is great. Fair play to him.
“Tv and social media is huge which helps him. It is good for darts typically. I do not thoughts.”
Luke Littler:
“As I received older, I watched darts an increasing number of. The primary one [Van Gerwen match] I bear in mind was the 2017 ultimate when he beat Gary [Anderson].
“He’s been around for years and years and I’m sure he won’t change for anyone.”
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Luke Littler explains how he’s coping with fame, what he does to deal with the hectic schedule and provides his ideas on Manchester United
What’s subsequent?
Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen will meet within the World ultimate on Friday evening at Alexandra Palace
Luke Littler is one win away from creating historical past after reaching his second successive world championship ultimate. The 17-year-old from Warrington will tackle Michael van Gerwen, who’s chasing his fourth World title after bulldozing his technique to the ultimate. Watch the drama unfold from 7.30pm this Friday on Sky Sports activities Darts.
Watch the Premier League Darts on Sky Sports activities
Littler celebrates with the Premier League Darts trophy
Watch all of the motion from the Premier League on Sky Sports activities with Luke Littler aiming to defend his title. The brand new Premier League season will start in Belfast on Thursday, February 6, as darts’ largest get together returns to an unchanged line-up of 17 venues throughout the UK and Europe.
Who will win the Premier League Darts? Watch all of the motion on Sky Sports activities. Stream darts and extra high sport with NOW.
