UN-LUKY
Heartbreak for Luke Littler as he loses to Van Gerwen with two agonising closing darts in Premier League final in Berlin
Michael van Gerwen won the closely fought contest in Berlin
LUKE LITTLER missed two darts to win the match as Michael van Gerwen edged out a tense Premier League final 6-5.
Littler had a dream start as he broke the Dutchman in the very first leg before holding his own throw to take a 2-0 lead.
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Van Gerwen then got on the scoreboard by taking the third leg and broke back to seize the initiative at 2-2.
The pair then each held throw but Littler looked a little nervy as he struggled to find treble 20.
Mighty went 4-3 up after a tense leg in which Littler threatened to break, but to no avail.
Littler, 17, then narrowly held his own throw to restore parity at 4-4.
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He had a great chance to go back in front but missed double top to break Van Gerwen, who went 5-4 ahead before The Nuke levelled up at 5-5.
It came down to the final leg and Littler threw brilliantly to set up a match-winning chance.
With 80 left on the scoreboard he hit treble 20 to have two darts at double ten - his favourite double.
His first dart missed the target by centimetres before he hit ten to hand Van Gerwen a shot at the win.
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And the Green Machine made no mistake as he nailed double five to seal victory in Berlin.
Littler can take a lot of pride in his performance and adds three points to his overall Premier League score, which now stands at five to move the teen up to third in the table, behind Van Gerwen and Michael Smith.
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The Warrington wonderkid overcame Rob Cross and Luke Humphries in tense affairs to reach the final, beating both 6-5, while Van Gerwen came from behind to beat Nathan Aspinall before edging out Smith in the semis.
Van Gerwen was full of praise for Littler, saying: “To have games against Luke Littler is always good. I think it was a fantastic night for darts. I feel good but there is more to come.
“Sometimes my energy levels going into games has not been too great. You need to find a solution. I know I have the ability but you still have to do it all the time.
“In darts it’s always good to have fresh blood and people who are in form.
“People in form always boost the other players as well. That’s how darts goes. Of course everyone wants to put the pressure on Luke now.”
After beating world champion Humphries, Littler said: “I didn’t feel at my best. I came in here last night. It’s crazy 10,000-plus. That’s all I like doing is playing in front of a big crowd.
“I just want to win that first game every week so I’m guaranteed two points. If need be, win the semi and the final. It’s just about getting points on the board.”
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