Van Gerwen returns to form

MICHAEL van Gerwen ended Luke Littler’s Premier League winning run to claim victory on night 11 in Birmingham on Thursday.

Littler had been targeting a third consecutive nightly victory after back-to-back successes in Belfast and Manchester, which put him top of the table.

The 17-year-old had looked to be building up another head of steam after edging out Rob Cross in a lastleg decider and then holding off a stirring fightback from world champion Luke Humphries to win their latest epic tussle 6-5 – landing five maximums with a matchaverage of just over 107.

Dutchman Van Gerwen, though, capitalised on a low-key start to the final, before eventually breaking twice to close out a 6-3 win and rekindle his own title ambitions.

Van Gerwen, the defending Premier League champion, avoided another early exit after coming from behind to defeat Nathan Aspinall in his first match and then eased past Michael Smith 6-4.

Littler remains top of the table with 26 points, two clear of rival Humphries, while Van Gerwen sits third on 22 and Aspinall fourth.

Van Gerwen, above, hopes he can head into night 12 in Rotterdam with renewed confidence.

“I have made it hard for myself to be fair,” the Dutchman said on Sky Sports, “But more importantly it is about how you bounce back. I know the last few weeks have not been great for me, but to come back with a win tonight feels good.”

Van Gerwen added: “I had to go really deep tonight and at the end, Luke and I neither really played our A-game, but when you win nights like this, it is not always about who is playing well – sometimes it is who can handle it.

“I had a struggling few weeks, but to bounce back with a win like this gives me confidence of course.

“People will write you off when you lose, that is how things go, but I believed in my own abilities and you need to make sure you keep your mind focused.

“I know there is more to come – the fighting spirit in my body is still there. I need to make sure I am good for next week.”

In the night’s opening quarterfinal, Humphries came from 4-1 down to claim five straight legs and beat Peter Wright, who remains cut adrift at the bottom of the table.

Littler survived a match dart as he eventually battled past Cross, before former world champion Smith put last week’s defeat by Gerwyn Price behind him with a 6-3 win over the Welshman.

Van Gerwen landed a superb 152 checkout as he came from 4-2 behind to take control of his tie against Aspinall, going on to close out a much-needed 6-4 win.