FUMING Michael van Gerwen claimed his fourth successive defeat to Luke Littler was “unacceptable”.
Twenty-two days after their meeting in the PDC World Championship final, the Dutchman was beaten 6-3 by the Nuke in his backyard of Den Bosch in the quarter-finals of the Dutch Darts Masters.
GettyLuke Littler beat Dutchman Michael van Gerwen 6-3 but then lost 7-6 to Stephen Bunting in the semi-finals[/caption]
Van Gerwen was his own biggest critic after defeat against the Nuke
Littler was himself then sunk 7-6 by Stephen Bunting in the semis.
Last year’s champion MVG – he lives only 10 minutes from the venue – fell 3-0 down but pulled it back to 3-3, capitalising in leg five when Littler bust his score of five on double 17.
Van Gerwen, 35, lost to the 18-year-old in Amsterdam in September, Prague in October and then at Ally Pally on January 3 as they contested for the Sid Waddell Trophy.
This latest loss in his homeland continued the hoodoo at the hands of Littler.
The three-time world champion said: “I played terrible tonight. This performance was not acceptable.
“I was really focused all day and wanted to win this trophy so much.
“No matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t get them when I wanted them. I was lucky to be 3-3 – it could have been 6-0.”
Van Gerwen, the world No.3, was playing with a broken toe sustained in a freak accident on his recent family holiday to Thailand.
He said: “It’s annoying but you can’t do anything about it.
“It happened last week on holiday.
“Accidents can happen. I enjoyed my holiday. I definitely had a nice rest.”
Van Gerwen’s exit meant there would be a new winner of the Toon Greebe trophy, which is named after a local player who died in October 2023 aged 35.
Raymond van Barneveld, Holland’s most successful player, lost 6-5 in the quarters to Stephen Bunting but the contest saw 32 missed doubles across 11 legs.
Barney, 57, had hinted the previous day he might retire soon, saying: “Maybe only two or three years left in me.”
Luke Littler prize money breakdown
Here is all the prize money Luke Littler has won so far after being crowned 2025 PDC World Darts Championship winner:
World Championship 2025 – £500,000
World Championship 2024 – £200,000
Grand Slam of Darts 2024 – £150,000
European Tour – £91,000
Player Championships events – £71,500
Players Championship final runner-up – £60,000
UK Open 2023 + 2024 – £17,500
World Matchplay – £10,000
World Grand Prix – £7,500
European Championship – £7,500
(Unranked) Premier League Darts – £315,000
TOTAL: £1.43 million
Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
