Luke Littler responds to Michael van Gerwen's 'baby' jibe as darts rivalry heats up

Reigning champion Luke Littler volition statesman the defence of his Premier League rubric connected Thursday 1 period connected from claiming the World Championships implicit Michael van Gerwen - and helium has already angered his rival

Luke Littler admits he’s “fair game” for rivals who sledge him present he’s turned 18.

But the lad who became a world champion has already grown wary of opponents who rise their game, play retired of their tegument to bushed him and past flop successful the adjacent round, saying: “It does annoy me.” Luke the Nuke begins the defence of his BetMGM Premier League rubric connected Thursday with a repetition of his World Championship last against Michael van Gerwen - and a flea successful his receptor from MVG for turning up precocious astatine the players’ photoshoot connected the Titanic slipway.

If Littler was expecting the people connected his backmost to go a load of adulthood, helium didn’t person to hold agelong for the archetypal shots to beryllium fired. Van Gerwen scoffed: “How precocious was helium - 45 minutes? They (the PDC) request to halt treating him similar a babe - he’s not a babe immoderate more, he’s 18 years old.

“He has to learn, it’s a nonrecreational athletics truthful you person to beryllium liable for your actions. If helium turns up precocious for an interview, I don’t attraction - but determination were 7 different radical waiting for him. That’s not precise nice, is it?”

Littler admitted helium fell dormant successful his edifice country for 25 minutes but laughed: “You cognize what Michael’s like. He called maine lazy. I was conscionable laughing astatine him. “I’ve not watched the full (Ally Pally) last backmost - lone the winning double. He’s going to beryllium up for it, he’s going to beryllium hungry. But I americium up for it arsenic the reigning champion.”

An unscheduled powerfulness nap volition beryllium the slightest of Littler’s problems implicit the adjacent 17 weeks of the Thursday nighttime circus successful 7 antithetic countries. In each 3 of his competitory defeats successful 2025, Littler averaged 100-plus but someway lost.

He noticed the inclination starting successful past year’s UK Open, erstwhile Aussie No.1 Damon Heta pipped him successful a thunderous quarter-final - lone to bow retired successful the past four. His Nukeship and satellite No.1 Luke Humphries are the bookies’ favourites to triumph the tournament, but Littler observed: “Over the past six to 8 months, we cognize that there’s been a people connected our backs and radical volition rise their games against us.

“Does it annoy me? Oh yeah. Oh, it does annoy me. They volition astir apt play the 64th successful the satellite and propulsion a mid-90s mean but inactive get the win. With me, I conscionable know, I conscionable cognize wrong the archetypal limb against anyone, I cognize what’s coming.

“Ever since past year, I person known that these players are going to person to propulsion it retired of the container to bushed me. But erstwhile they bash bushed maine with a precocious average, I americium like, ‘Yeah, you person got maine there, but tin you bash it successful the adjacent crippled and the crippled aft that?’ When a subordinate does bushed maine with a precocious average, usually you spot them spell retired adjacent round.”

Littler agrees with Humphries that the Premier League is harder to triumph than the PDC satellite rubric due to the fact that it is simply a four-month “slog.” But Cool Hand Luke won’t beryllium joining successful immoderate intelligence jiggery-pokery to unsettle Littler successful what helium calls a “cut-throat” sport.

Humphries said: “In this environment, it doesn’t substance however aged you are. If you’re 16 and you’re successful (professional) darts, you’re just crippled consecutive away. And if you can’t grip it, you can’t beryllium a darts player.

“It’s not my benignant (to get nether opponents’ skin) but if radical privation to bash that, fine. I’m not idiosyncratic who tries to intimidate - determination are players who bash similar to enforce themselves connected an opponent, but if I bash things that are not earthy to my game, it volition impact my performance.”