Michael van Gerwen shuns Luke Littler's favourite tag with World Matchplay lesson
PDCMonday, 15 July 2024 at 22:40
Michael van Gerwen has not been in dynamite form as of late but he proved to be too strong for Luke Littler on the latter's World Matchplay debut after 'The Nuke' went off as the favourite in the betting and also with a lot of tournament previews.
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But Van Gerwen made sure that he was the one to move through with a 10-6 win averaging 102 with five 180's and a high checkout of 146. Littler averaged 101 but was too inconsistent on MVG's throw and had a lot of slack visits instead of being able to really pressure and couldn't find the pivotal break he needed.
Van Gerwen led with a 56 checkout to hold. He missed darts to break but Littler needed 170 and couldn’t even get a shot as he was all over the place to start. But he left 36 and with MVG missing three darts, Littler hit double 10 to make it 1-1.
A 124 set up left double 20 with MVG going array on his throw and Littler pinned double 10 for 2-1. Littler missed 167 on the bull for 3-1 though and MVG hit 44 for 2-2. MVG missed 103 for 3-2 but Littler could not hit 141 so back the Dutchman came for 3-2 on double four.
MVG broke again with a 72 checkout for 4-2. Littler went double double on 18’s for 129 and was punished with MVG leading 5-2. Littler finally stopped the rot on double 12 for 5-3.
Littler pinned 83 on double 16 for 5-4 down. Littler missed three for 5-5 and MVG broke back for 6-4. Van Gerwen hit a 94 checkout for 7-4 as Littler began running out of time. He hit double 20 for 7-5.
A 146 checkout saw MVG edge ahead again at 8-5. MVG missed 97 to go one away at 9-5 and Littler got a shot at 73 and hit bull for 8-6. But it was now or never as MVG went t the brink at 9-6. MVG missed 170 for the win but he returned to seal the win.
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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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- I loved Jan and loved his walk on music "Explode" by Jordan & Baker. I think if he stuck around the BDO he definitely would have been World Champion, should have won in 2014, he never really showed any of his talent in the PDC. I remembered he worked in a bank or in finance and maybe that was his priority, he was also a fan and interested in magic. Definitely should have achieved much more in darts than he did. Wherever you are nowadays Jan, hope all is well and I was always a fan.richieburnettrocks11-09-2026
- 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
- 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
- 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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