"I bring the best out of him, and he brings the best out of me" - Littler gears up for showpiece against Van Gerwen
PDCMonday, 15 July 2024 at 18:00
Luke Littler is eager to take on Michael van Gerwen in the first round of the World Matchplay on Monday night. For "The Nuke," it will be his debut at the Winter Gardens.
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The two world class players were able to meet because Van Gerwen had qualified for the World Matchplay through the world rankings and Littler through the Pro Tour. In the first round, a top-16 player is paired with one of the Pro Tour qualifiers.
"I think my reaction was the same as any darts fan - it's a blockbuster first round tie,'' Littler acknowledged. "It's going to be a completely new experience for myself on debut, but I've been putting the work in on the practice board, and I can't wait to get on that Winter Gardens stage.”
In more than six months, Van Gerwen and Littler have already faced each other nine times. Currently, Van Gerwen holds a 5-4 lead. However, the last two matches were won by Littler.
"I remember our first game in Bahrain when I got one over him, but we've played each other many times since,” Littler continued. "He beat me when he was on home soil in Den Bosch, and then we played each other many times during the Premier League. Playing Michael - I know I bring the best out of him, and he brings the best out of me. We always have good games, so I'm expecting the same on Monday.”
Littler could follow in the footsteps of Larry Butler and Dimitri van den Bergh this week, who previously won the World Matchplay title on their tournament debut. ''It would mean everything to beat a player like Michael in the first round,” admitted the World Youth Champion.“I think our side of the draw could open up for either one of us, so if I could get past Michael, I would fancy my chances for another good run.”
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Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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- Not much of a tournament really,is it? Now they've all pulled out,it's open for everyone. I'm sure if you bought tickets,you'd be disappointed. Doesn't that seem to bother the withdrawals? Not at all!!rick6710-09-2026
- Need to see her take part in the womens tour. She'll break the inernet.medinabello08-09-2026
- If he can be bothered? He won't play darts in Germany yet he'll go over and get an award!??rick6702-09-2026
- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
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- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
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