Kelly Deckers/PDCVan Gerwen and Littler wish each other good luck
NOS Sport•Saturday, 9:30 PM•Adjusted Saturday, 11:26 PM
Michael van Gerwen won the Dutch Darts Masters in Den Bosch on Saturday. In the final, the three-time world champion was too strong for Luke Littler 8-6.
The final of this season’s second World Series tournament was a repeat of last week’s, when Littler defeated Van Gerwen in Bahrain. Littler thus won his first senior title.
“We are going to play so many great matches against each other,” Van Gerwen said afterwards. “At least he knows I’m the boss now.”
The 17-year-old Littler is widely regarded as the biggest talent in a long time. The finals in Bahrain and Den Bosch, the first two mutual meetings, were also a test of strength between the veteran who has already won everything and the new impetus that is only just emerging in the professional circuit.
“It’s only good for the sport that he is here now,” Van Gerwen said about his new rival. “A lot of people are afraid of that boy, but I’m not. You just have to deal with it. I’m not interested in anything. He is unapologetic, just throws freely. That will change, everyone knows that.”
Kelly Deckers/PDC Van Gerwen with the trophy in Den Bosch
“After the match I told him that he is a fantastic darts player, I mean that. He is just starting out, I have already earned my stripes in darts.”
Reparation
Van Gerwen was looking for rehabilitation in the Maaspoort sports hall and started the match excellently. While the 34-year-old Brabander made some mistakes in his previous matches this tournament, he was sharp this time. Especially in the doubles, this was a requirement to provide a match against Littler, on whom high pressure hardly seems to have any effect.
Already in the first leg, Littler had the chance to break Van Gerwen. He failed to do so, after which Van Gerwen struck via double-7. Van Gerwen also ran into problems in the next leg he started. This time Littler did take advantage of the opportunity, taking a 2-1 lead.
Kelly Deckers/PDCLuke Littler
That put Van Gerwen on edge further. He immediately placed a new break in eleven arrows. The final was loose.
Birthday
Van Gerwen continued to steam ahead and went into the break with a 4-3 lead. Littler took the first leg after the break, after which Van Gerwen beautifully scored a score of 130.
With the score at 6-6, Littler missed a crucial opportunity to make a break. Van Gerwen kept his own leg and won the match by throwing double-14. With this, Van Gerwen won his first PDC title of the year on his wife Daphne’s birthday, in a venue about a ten-minute drive from his home.
Littler had reached the final battle by beating world champion Luke Humphries 6-5 in a repeat of the World Cup final. He then defeated Gerwyn Price 7-4 in the semi-finals.
Kelly Deckers/PDC Michael van Gerwen exuberantly celebrates his victory over Raymond van Barneveld
Van Gerwen defeated Van Barneveld in a breathtaking quarter-final 6-5. Van Gerwen faced a 2-5 deficit, only to win four legs in a row under high pressure.
In the semi-final against Gian van Veen, ‘Mighty Mike’ won 7-4.
