Luke Littler makes ‘burnt out’ Premier League claim as Van Gerwen earns revenge
Luke Littler hopes to have staved off ‘burn out’ ahead of his Premier League debut after reaching another major final.
The 17-year-old reached the Dutch Masters showpiece only to fall to Michael van Gerwen in Den Bosch. The Dutchman secured an 8-6 victory to avenge his defeat to Littler at the Bahrain Masters.
The youngster was full of praise for the eventual victor and is hopeful that he is mentally ready for what is a testing Premier League schedule. Speaking after his defeat to Van Gerwen on Saturday night, he said: “It went leg by leg, hold by hold. At the end when I hit a 180, he came back with one.
"Throughout the game, it was unbelievable. I put him under pressure or tried to - he just wouldn't miss! The crowd have been amazing, they want Michael to win and I get that.
“But how many 140s did I hit? He finally got me at the end. Hopefully I haven't burnt myself out for the Prem next week! I can't wait to go to Cardiff."
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Littler had enjoyed another hugely impressive run at the Dutch Masters. He overcame his PDC World Championship opponent Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals before beating Gerwyn Price.
He couldn’t find a way past Van Gerwen on this occasion though. In celebrating his win on home soil, the Dutchman made sure to hail his opponent ahead of his Premier League bow.
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Van Gerwen said: "This is what people like to watch. Everyone knows he is in form. Luke Littler will have a bright future ahead of him, we all know that. His scoring power is immense. He doesn't care about anything and he does his own thing. I think that's good. It was a great tournament.
"I needed my best performance. We all know I had some really tough games in the last year and I underperformed a lot of times. You have to make sure you keep your fighting spirit."
He added: "To win this trophy and win against Luke Littler in front of the home crowd is amazing. To see a crowd like this always means a lot."
The Premier League gets underway on Thursday 1 February. Littler will take on Humphries in the first round of fixtures. Van Gerwen will be attempting to claim what would be a record-breaking eighth Premier League crown. He gets his latest defence underway in Cardiff by taking on Michael Smith.
Following the first night, the Premier League then moves to the German capital Berlin and then returns to English shores with fixtures set to be played in Glasgow, Newcastle, Exeter, Brighton and Nottingham over the next couple of months.
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