LITTLER: PREM IS HARDEST TO WIN

By Phil Lanning

LUKE LITTLER believes the Premier League is the hardest tournament to win. 

The reigning champ begins the defence of his crown against Michael van Gerwen in Belfast tonight. 

But ‘The Nuke’, 18, admits he needs a good start and just to keep consistently putting points on the board every week. 

He said: “I’d say it’s the hardest tournament to win week-in, week-out. 

“You have got to stay there, you don’t want to go into the second half of the season chasing points and needing loads of points to get through. 

“If you can get off to a good start it’s perfect.

“I’m feeling okay. I might feel nervous when it comes to the task on Thursday. There are always nerves in those first few legs. I’m hoping for a quick start against Michael just like the world final.”

The reigning world champion also admits it “annoys” him that players are now upping their performances. 

He added: “Oh, it does annoy me.

“They’ll probably play the 64th player in the world, throw a mid-90 average but still get the win. 

“With me, I just know (they’ll raise their game). I just know within the first leg against anyone, I know what to expect from them.

“It’s weird. They’ll play their best against me but they’ve got to get themselves ready again for the next game.”

Littler – who has won 11 titles as a professional and thrown four nine-darters – continued: “Ever since last year, I’ve known that these players are going to have to pull it out of the bag to beat me.

“But when they do beat me with a high average, it’s also good for them. 

“I’m like: ‘Yeah, you have got it there, but can you do it in the next game and next game after that?’

“When a player does beat me with a high average usually you do see them go out next round. 

“Fair play to Jonny Clayton at the Masters as he beat me and then went all the way to the final. 

“Most of the time people have beaten me and sadly they have gone out the next round.

“They don’t have to raise their game anymore. Make sure you get that in!”

2025 BetMGM Premier League.
Night One – Thursday, February 6.
The SSE Arena, Belfast.

Quarter-Finals:
Chris Dobey v Gerwyn Price
Stephen Bunting v Rob Cross
Luke Littler v Michael van Gerwen
Nathan Aspinall v Luke Humphries

Semi-Finals:
Dobey/Price v Bunting/Cross
Littler/Van Gerwen v Aspinall/Humphries

Final

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