Luke Littler immediately hits back at Michael van Gerwen as darts star shows true colours
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Luke Littler issued a classy response to Michael van Gerwen’s brutal comment about his World Championship form. Littler produced his best display of the tournament so far on Monday night, posting a 103 average as he fended off the impressive Ryan Joyce 4-3. The Nuke was pushed all the way by ace double-hitter Joyce, but came through with flying colours to set up a quarter-final against Nathan Aspinall on New Year’s Day night.
Earlier in the evening, Van Gerwen impressed too, defeating Jeffrey de Graaf 4-2. After his win, the Green Machine told Dutch media that Littler had been the “biggest disappointment” of the tournament so far, despite his explosive final-set average of 140-plus in his opening round win over Ryan Meikle.
After the win over Joyce, Van Gerwen’s comments were put to Littler, who refused to be drawn into a war of words with the three-time world champion. The Warrington thrower said: “It [the win over Joyce] might answer a few questions but I’m just happy with the result, happy with the power scoring.
“I said before the match, you’ve got to be leaving finishes after at least nine to 12 darts to give myself a chance, and that’s what I’ve done.”. Littler also complimented Joyce, who had been regarded as one of the most dangerous unseeded players in the tournament. He said: “It was a very tough game. We both played very well. Ryan said he had no power-scoring, but he was right behind me in every leg I won! Ryan won’t be happy with the result, but I think he should be happy with the way he played.
