"He got annoyed with the crowd" - Michael van Gerwen takes advantage of distracted Luke Littler in Liverpool

It's always a spectacle when Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen face off and on Night 12 of the 2025 Premier League Darts in Liverpool, things were no different. This time, it was the mighty Dutchman who emerged victorious 6-5, although in truth, the scoreline doesn't tell the full story of the match.

From looking on the brink of a heavy defeat, Van Gerwen produced a stunning turnaround. Trailing 4-0 and facing an in-form Littler who had fired in six 180s, the Dutchman dug deep to edge out the Premier League Darts leader in a dramatic final-leg decider. Littler even missed two match darts, allowing Van Gerwen to take full advantage to keep his hopes of reaching the O2 Arena once again alive.

"He has twice as many points as me. It wasn't a great game. It was a tough game from both of us. He got annoyed with the crowd," Van Gerwen told Sky Sports after the match, noting how he felt Littler had been distracted by the negative crowd response he'd recieved on Merseyside. "I didn't play my own game and he played well in the beginning, but you need to make sure you believe in your own ability and when you get chances you've got to take them."

If Van Gerwen is right and Littler was indeed distracted by the hostile reception, the world champion might be rueing his comments ahead of the night's action. "One of the best nights in the Premier League calendar coming up tomorrow, bring on the boos Liverpool," Littler posted to his official X (formerly Twitter) account on the eve of Night 12.

Although Van Gerwen took advantage against Littler, reaching the semi-finals again to get another point on the board, the Dutchman lost out in the semi-finals to Luke Humphries and as a result, ended the night outside the playoff positions, 5th in the Premier League Darts table with just four weeks still to play.