- Littler and MVG met in the first round on the opening Premier League night
- Fans booed Van Gerwen as he stepped up to finish off Littler in the Belfast clash
- Two days ago, MVG branded him a ‘baby’ for oversleeping before a photoshoot
Luke Littler treated the crowd to a gesture about his rival Michael van Gerwen as the Dutchman enacted revenge for his World Darts Championship final drubbing.
The Nuke, 18, crashed out of the first round on the opening night of the Premier League in Belfast via a 6-5 defeat to the Dutch legend.
Littler hit an astonishing average of 113.91 – only Phil Taylor has lost a Premier League game with higher – but Van Gerwen motored into the semi-finals, where he was defeated by Luke Humphries.
The contest came just a day after Van Gerwen, 35, slammed Littler as a ‘baby’ for oversleeping and arriving 45 minutes late to a photoshoot in Belfast.
Stephen Bunting added that the Premier League Darts stars had been left ‘frozen’ waiting for the pillow-loving teen.
As Van Gerwen stepped up to the oche to finish off Littler on Thursday, the crowd began to boo in a bid to put him off.
Luke Littler discouraged the crowd from booing Michael van Gerwen on Thursday night
The Nuke crashed out of the first round of the Premier League Darts with a 6-5 defeat to MVG
The crowd had booed Van gerwen as he stepped up to finish off a thrilling Belfast encounter
But the Warrington lad wagged his finger at the audience to discourage them in a mark of respect to his foe.
He had had the chance to claim victory but shot just wide of the treble 19 he required to set up a bullseye checkout.
Littler got off to a good start in the match and established a 2-1 lead but Van Gerwen ploughed through the devastating voley of darts to reach the last four.
The contest had acquired an extra layer of intensity due to Van Gerwen speaking up on Littler’s behaviour in the days before.
’45 minutes late, you mean. They need to stop treating him like a baby. He’s not a baby anymore, he’s 18-years-old now,’ he had said over the photoshoot tardiness.
‘It happens. He has to learn. You have to learn the hard way. It’s a professional sport so you have to be responsible for your actions. Simple as that.
‘If he turns up late for an interview, I don’t mind! But seven other people are waiting for him. That’s not very nice, is it?’
Ahead of his meeting with Van Gerwen in the Premier League on Thursday, a rematch of the World Championship final, Littler acknowledged his rival had a point.
MVG blasted Littler as a ‘baby’ after he turned up 45 minutes late to a photoshoot
‘I always let my darts do the talking, Littler told Sky Sports. ‘But he’s not wrong, I was late.
‘Now I am 18, I am responsible for my actions and I did get a little telling off’.
All the same, he has ultimate bragging rights. In January Littler picked up a 7-3 victory to shatter Van Gerwen’s reocrd for being youngest world champion ever – by six years.
Luke Humphries got his Premier League campaign off to the perfect start as he claimed victory and the £10,000 prize in Belfast.
It will run for 17 weeks at venues around England, as well as Dublin, Glasgow, Cardiff, and the Netherlands.
The playoffs will begin at The O2 in London on Thursday, May 29.
