MICHAEL VAN GERWEN brutally shut down claims that Luke Littler is his new arch rival.
The Dutchman won night four of the Premier League in Newcastle yesterday to make it three successive victories.
Van Gerwen beat Nathan Aspinall 6-4 in the final after edging Luke Littler 6-5 in a dramatic semi-final clash.
MVG’s win over the 17-year-old means he has now beaten him three times in a row within a month.
The run started with an 8-6 victory at the Dutch Masters and continued thanks to his pair of 6-5 wins in the Prem.
Van Gerwen was asked if these close matches could be just the beginning of a long rivalry between the two.
But he cheekily shut down that suggestion, saying: “Not really, I keep beating him.”
Although Van Gerwen did go on to praise Littler, adding: “He’s a phenomenal player.
“He has a lot of talent and he has such a great career in front of him.
“But like I always say, get the pressure a little bit off him.
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“Don’t ask him too many stupid questions. Just let him enjoy what he does and it makes him a better player in the long run.
“He’s a young kid, how much pressure the press and everyone puts on his shoulders – it’s insane.”
Van Gerwen has not had it all his own way against Littler as the wonderkid did beat him 8-5 in the Bahrain Masters in their first meeting back in January.
But the 34-year-old is complete control of the Premier League as he now has an eight-point lead ahead of Michael Smith and Luke the Nuke in joint-second place.
The players will be back at the oche next Thursday in Exeter.
