VAN GERWEN CHANNELS BRAVEHEART SPIRIT FOR LITTLER CLASH
18/02/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
By Phil Lanning
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN has revealed his favourite movie is BRAVEHEART as he aims to conquer Luke Littler again.
The three-times world champion is now showing glimpses of his best after a torrid 2025 as he attempted to cope with a divorce and his dad battling cancer.
MVG, 36, arrives at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow for the Premier League tomorrow night to face The Nuke in a blockbuster opening quarter-final.
Van Gerwen beat under-the-weather Littler in the semis in Antwerp last week on the way to a second successive final.
He reveals in the Premier League programme that he loves the William Wallace movie epic. Now he’ll have to summons that fighting spirit after so many off-stage issues to deal with.
He said: “If you look to the last few years I’ve had a jaw operation, hand operation, divorce, my dad.
“I haven’t had the best few years of my life. That doesn’t help.
“This year is going to be now without any crap and just throw darts, that’s what I want.
“Darts doesn’t stand still for anyone. You have to keep moving.”
Van Gerwen has huge praise for his rival Littler. But he doesn’t totally agree with Luke Humphries’ statement after the World Masters final that the teen sensation is greatest-ever.
Cool Hand did adjust his wording later to the “most talented dart player ever” but MVG believes Littler has to show longevity to be classed as a great.
He added: “If I purely look at what he does now and his capability, he’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen.
“But you have to do it over a longer distance. Without a shadow of a doubt I think he can and is able to do that. But in five, six, seven years I want to see his hunger.”
MVG is three points clear at the top of the table after two weeks but still admits that the Premier League is not his big target for 2026.
He added: “That’s not my main priority. My main priority is not the Premier League either. My main priority is the ranking tournaments now.
“I always said that after the World Championship, the Premier League is the second biggest tournament for us players. But for me personally, the UK Open, Matchplay, it’s more important than the moment for me.
“But it doesn’t get in the way. I’m not coming here not to win.
“There’s still room for improvement. As long as you keep that in mind, anything is possible.”
“At some point, it gets boring! But no, it’s right now. Winning is never boring.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
