Darts results: Michael van Gerwen defeats Luke Littler to win the Premier League night in Birmingham

By Sporting Life

Darts

Fri April 12, 2024 · 8M ago

Michael van Gerwen won his fourth Premier League night of the season as he prevented Luke Littler from picking up his third in a row in Birmingham.

The Dutchman had only managed one match win in this tournament since completing a hat-trick of successes back in week four due to a combination of injury and loss of form, but he bounced back to get his campaign back on track.

Littler still leads the standings ahead of Luke Humphries, who he beat for a sixth time in a row in the semi-finals with an average of 107, while MVG is hot on their heels ahead of next week's trip to Amsterdam.

Prior to a scrappy final, in which MVG averaged just 90 compared to the 17-year-old's lowly 88, the defending champion overcame Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith by 6-4 scorelines, with Littler's other win coming against Rob Cross in a deciding leg.

Incredible that Luke Littler has won all six meetings vs Luke Humphries since the World Championship final - and five of them were 6-5. pic.twitter.com/SZnzdx7qc8
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) April 11, 2024

"It's about time," joked Van Gerwen, who moves up to third, four points adrift of table-topper Littler.

"I have made it a little bit hard for myself, but the most important thing is how you bounce back, and how do you reflect on the last few weeks.

"We all know the last few weeks have not been great for me, but to come back with a win here tonight feels good.

"I had to battle tonight. I had to dig deep. I wasn't playing my A-game, but this win gives me confidence of course.

"I believe in my own ability. You need to make sure you stay focused and that's what I've done, but there's still more to come."

Luke Littler still leads the way

World number one Humphries had returned to winning ways on the Premier League stage in the evening’s opener against Peter Wright, reeling off five straight legs from 4-1 adrift to cement second spot in the table.

In the night's other quarter-final tie at a sell-out Utilita Arena, Smith denied Gerwyn Price in a high-quality affair, averaging 104 and pinning six of his nine attempts at double to close the gap on fourth-placed Aspinall to a solitary point.