Luke Littler has accused Michael van Gerwen of 'trying to get in his head' backstage ahead of the 2025 Premier League Darts.
This season's Premier League campaign resumes tonight in Berlin as Littler looks to extend his lead at the top of the standings.
'The Nuke' claimed a fourth nightly win in Newcastle last week as he thrashed Stephen Bunting 6-0 before defeating Rob Cross. He beat Luke Humphries in the final.
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The teenage sensation meets Chris Dobey in the quarter-finals of Night Nine, while Van Gerwen takes on Gerwyn Price.
Ahead of tonight's Premier League action, Littler has accused the Dutch star of 'trying to get in his head' backstage before taking to the oche.
Players throw darts against a practice board to see who can hit closest to bullseye to determine who goes first in a match.
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Littler has revealed that Van Gerwen plays minds game to try and put him off.
But the 18-year-old claims he always nails the bullseye before he does.
In the latest episode of Stick to Football, brought to you by Sky Bet - Littler said: "I travel to tournaments with Chris Dobey and Nathan Aspinall as we’ve got the same management team. With the other players like Michael van Gerwen or Luke Humphries, we’ll talk in the practice room and have banter to try and get into each other’s heads.
"Before every tournament, before we go on stage, we throw for nearest bull to see who goes first and every time I’ll go over to Michael van Gerwen, and he’ll try to get in my head about hitting the bullseye first but always get it before he does!"
Littler beat Van Gerwen in last year's World Darts Championship final to secure the first world title of his career.
And they could renew hostilities in the semi-finals of the Premier League if they win their respective quarter-final matches.
Topics: Michael van Gerwen, Luke Littler, Darts
Nasir Jabbar