"Does it annoy me? Oh yeah. Oh, it does annoy me" - Luke Littler sees alarming trend within rivals ahead of Premier League Darts 2025

Luke Littler begins his title defence as the 2025 Premier League Darts gets underway tonight in Belfast. The 18-year-old Englishman will take on Michael van Gerwen in the quarter-finals on opening night, in what will be a rematch of the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship final on January 3rd, won by 'The Nuke'.

Littler won the Premier League Darts in his debut season last year. After topping the league table, in the final of the playoffs at London's O2 Arena, he defeated Luke Humphries 11-7, hitting a nine-darter in that final. Before he can dream of lifting the title again though, he first has a revenge-seeking Van Gerwen to take on this Thursday night in Belfast. “He’s going to be up for it, he’s going to be hungry but I’m up for it as the reigning champion. Whoever wins, it will be big for us,” previews the teenage sensation. “This is the biggest tournament I am going to defend all year around until the Worlds. Tomorrow night it so important to get that first win against Michael."

“I’m feeling OK, I might feel nervous when it does come to the task tomorrow, but there is always nerves, but I’m hoping to make a fast start like I did in the final," Littler continues. “The first win last year came here in Belfast, so I have got good memories here and I want to kick on.”

The trash talking has already begun as well with Van Gerwen criticising Littler for arriving late to the press conference. “They need to stop treating him as a baby. He’s not a baby anymore, he’s 18 years old," the Dutchman said in his own pre-Premier League press conference. Littler though, is keen to laugh off any criticism. "You know what Michael’s like," he explains. "He called me lazy. I was just laughing at him."

Littler is also well aware that there is now a target firmly placed on his back, although he insists that is nothing new. "Over the past six to eight months, we know that there’s been a target on our backs and people will raise their games against us," he notes. "Does it annoy me? Oh yeah. Oh, it does annoy me. They (his rivals ed.) will probably play the 64th in the world and throw a mid-90s average but still get the win. With me, I just know, I just know within the first leg against anyone, I know what’s coming."

"Ever since last year, I have known that these players are going to have to pull it out of the bag to beat me. But when they do beat me with a high average, I am like, ‘Yeah, you have got me there, but can you do it in the next game and the game after that?’" Littler questions. "When a player does beat me with a high average, usually you see them go out next round."