LITTLER OUT TO AVENGE VAN GERWEN DEFEAT
21/01/2025 By Phil Lanning
By Aaron Nijjar
LUKE LITTLER looks to avenge his defeat by Michael van Gerwen a year ago and win the Dutch Masters
Darts is back in full swing after last weekend’s Bahrain Masters, where Stephen Bunting claimed victory in the first World Series event of the year, beating Gerwyn Price in the final.
Van Gerwen returns to action aiming to defend his title after a thrilling victory in last year’s final. In that match, the seven-time Premier League winner overcame a brilliant 106 average from Littler to win 8–6, with the ‘Green Machine’ himself averaging over a ton.
Following a change in the PDC order of merit this year’s line up sees Chris Dobey and Bunting replace Peter Wright and Michael Smith, as the PDC representatives who will take on the eight Benelux players in the 16-player tournament. The other stars competing are Luke Humphries, Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross, Luke Littler, and Gerwyn Price.
The Benelux contingent will be strong, with names like Dimitri van den Bergh, Gian van Veen, Danny Noppert and Raymond van Barneveld among the competitors.
Action gets underway on Friday 24th January and concludes a day later on Saturday 25th January. Both sessions begin and end in the evening of both days.
Littler is the favourite to win the Dutch Masters, celebrating his 18th birthday today and already boasting titles like the World Championship, Premier League, Grand Slam, and World Series Finals. He’s in top form, having only been beaten last weekend in the Bahrain Masters by a stunning 115 average from Gerwyn Price, who hit 60 per cent of his doubles.
The ‘Nuke’s’ incredible consistency on tour was shown last season when he reached five World Series finals out of eight. Stephen Bunting is also in great form, winning 39 of his last 51 matches in all PDC events since October 1st, the second-best record behind Littler.
World No.1 Luke Humphries is not to be underestimated. ‘Cool Hand’ had a standout 2024 season, winning both the Players Championship and the World Matchplay.
But don’t count out Van Gerwen, who thrives at the Dutch Masters, having won six times in the last eight years. With his recent World Championship final run, he’ll be a tough opponent to beat in front of his home crowd.
Images by Taylor Lanning.
