Michael van Gerwen claimed his first European Tour title in a year after winning the Belgian Open.
Van Gerwen, who was a beaten finalist in Germany last month, overcame Luke Humphries 8-6 in the final to enter the winners’ circle for the first time since winning the European Darts Open in May 2022.
Humphries finished with a higher average and threw more 180s than Van Gerwen, but it was the Dutchman who prevailed thanks to his finishing prowess, which included a 129 checkout in the decisive 11th leg.
Van Gerwen, who now moves up to number two in the world behind Michael Smith, had earlier beaten Gary Anderson before gaining semi-final revenge on Josh Rock, the Northern Irish youngster who beat him in Leeuwarden last week.
It was a second successive final defeat for Humphries, top seed in this tournament, following his defeat to Dave Chisnall in Holland seven days ago.
The 28-year-old almost made darting perfection in the seventh leg but missed double 12 on his attempt at a nine-dart finish and then had to watch Van Gerwen lift the trophy.
Michael Van Gerwen ends Luke Littler’s Premier League winning run
Michael Van Gerwen ended Luke Littler’s Premier League winning run to claim victory on night 11 in Birmingham.
Littler had been targeting a third consecutive nightly victory following back-to-back successes in Belfast and Manchester, which put him top of the table.
The 17-year-old had looked to be building up another head of steam after earlier edging out Rob Cross in a last-leg decider and then holding off a stirring fightback from world champion Luke Humphries to win their latest epic tussle 6-5 – landing five maximums with a match-average of just over 107.
Dutchman Van Gerwen, though, capitalised on a low-key start to the final, before eventually breaking twice to close out a 6-3 win and rekindle his own play-off ambitions.
Van Gerwen, the defending Premier League champion, had avoided another early exit after coming from behind to beat Nathan Aspinall in his first match and then eased past Michael Smith 6-4.
Littler remains top of the table with 26 points, two clear of Humphries, while Van Gerwen sits third on 22 and Aspinall fourth.
Van Gerwen hopes he can now head into night 12 in Rotterdam with renewed confidence.
“I have made it hard for myself to be fair,” the Dutchman said on Sky Sports, “But more importantly it is about how you bounce back.
“I know the last few weeks have not been great for me, but to come back with a win tonight feels good for me.”
Van Gerwen added: “I had to go really deep tonight and at the end, Luke and I neither really played our A-game, but when you win nights like this, it is not always about who is playing well – sometimes it is who can handle it.
“I had a struggling few weeks, but to bounce back with a win like this gives me confidence of course.
“People will write you off when you off when you lose, that is how things go, but I believed in my own opportunities and you need to make sure you keep your mind focused.
“I know there is more to come – the fighting spirit in my body is still there. I need to make sure I am good for next week.”
In the night’s opening quarter-final at the Utilita Arena, Humphries – who enjoyed European Tour success at the recent German Darts Grand Prix in Munich – came from 4-1 down to claim five straight legs and beat Peter Wright, who remains cut adrift at the bottom of the table.
Littler had been trailing 3-1 and then survived a match dart as he eventually battled past Cross, before former world champion Smith put last week’s defeat by Gerwyn Price behind him with a 6-3 win over the Welshman.
Van Gerwen landed an impressive 152 checkout as he came from 4-2 behind to take control of his quarter-final against Aspinall, going on to close out a much-needed 6-4 win.
Luke Littler says Man United loss inspired him to win Premier League homecoming
Luke Littler was inspired to win his Premier League homecoming by Manchester United’s late collapse at Chelsea.
Littler, a staunch United fan, came on to stage at the AO Arena in Manchester moments after watching his side conceded two goals in injury time to lose 4-3 at Stamford Bridge and claimed a second successive weekly Premier League win, beating Gerwyn Price 6-3 in the final.
The 17-year-old star, who enjoyed a maiden victory in Belfast last week, was happy to give United fans in attendance something to cheer about.
“We were watching backstage, we were winning 3-2 and we conceded a penalty and Cole Palmer scored and then he scored again,” Littler said.
“I was in a bad mood, I was like, ‘I’m winning this now’. It gave me motivation.
“There were a few Manchester United fans on the walkout so I was glad to win.”
Price had thrown an epic nine-dart finish against Michael Smith in the semi-final, but was not good enough to get past the teenager, who was imperious in the final.
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Victory sends him to the top of the Premier League table as his star continues to burn bright following his breakthrough at the World Championship over Christmas.
Having already won titles at the Bahrain Masters, PDC Players Championship and Belgian Open, he is now all-but certain to qualify for the play-offs at the O2 in London.
“I just try and live my life as I have done so far,” he said. “As a 17-year-old boy, I just know every week playing these guys I have looked up to, I just thrive off it.
“All I do is stay in my zone. I just do what I do.”
Price produced his best performance of this year’s competition and became the first man to throw a perfect set of darts since he did it twice in a night in Belfast in 2022.
And his run to the final raises his hopes of getting to the O2, though he has a lot of work to do in the final few weeks.
Littler’s night started well as he took a winning record in his rivalry with Michael van Gerwen.
It had been tied at 3-3 but Littler moved ahead with a 6-3 quarter-final win before beating Nathan Aspinall in the semi-final, thanks largely to 131, 90 and 136 checkouts.
Price was superb in beating Peter Wright in the quarter-final before a magnificent performance, capped by the nine-dart finish, sent him to the final.
Luke Littler overcomes Nathan Aspinall to secure first Premier League win
Luke Littler saw off stablemate Nathan Aspinall to secure his first Premier League night win in Belfast.
Littler never looked back after edging out Luke Humphries in a last-leg decider of the opening quarter-final at the SSE Arena, which ended the world champion’s three-night winning Premier League run.
The 17-year-old – who has won titles at the Bahrain Masters, PDC Players Championship and Belgian Open in a breakout year – followed up with an impressive 6-3 win over Michael Van Gerwen, who had beaten him on night two in the Berlin final.
‘The Nuke’ landed a 136 checkout in first leg of the final, then just missed finishing off 170 in second before Aspinall broke throw as he built a 3-1 lead.
Littler, though, fought back to level with a showpiece bullseye-25-bullseye finish – which got a high-five from close-friend Aspinall – and then pushed on to within one leg of victory at 5-3.
Aspinall dug deep to break back in the next, but Littler eventually got the job done on double 10.
Overall victory on night nine moves Littler up to second in the table, four points behind Humphries, while Aspinall now sits in fourth, the last of the play-off places.
“I am just happy to win my first one,” Littler said on Sky Sports.
“People may have seen I have changed my throw to take that little bit of extra time then releasing the next two. I have put more practice in and it has paid off.
“I can’t wait for next week (in Manchester). I know I have got Michael (Van Gerwen) in the first round, but Nathan will obviously enjoy it also in his home town.”
Aspinall had reached his fourth final of this year’s Premier League campaign with a 6-2 win over Peter Wright, in which he produced 14 scores over 100.
Earlier in the other quarter-finals, Premier League title holder Van Gerwen came from 4-2 down against former world champion Michael Smith to win the last four legs, securing victory on a 150 checkout.
Aspinall had seen off Gerwyn Price, last year’s Belfast winner, in a last-leg decider to leave the Welshman further adrift of the play-offs, while Wright beat 2018 world champion Rob Cross 6-3.
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