Featured Image Credit: Getty/Sportnieuws.nl via YouTube
Topics: Darts, Luke Littler, Premier League
Chris Byfield
Topics: Darts, Luke Littler, Premier League
Michael Van Gerwen revealed the nickname he uses for darts prodigy Luke Littler.
On Sunday Littler won the Austrian Open in Graz, beating fellow Englishman Joe Cullen 8-4 in the final to claim his second European Tour title.
"I'm just happy to get over the line again," said Littler. "This weekend has been good, my darts have been good and the crowd really helped me."
Advert
Littler, who also won the Belgium Open last month, cruised through the tournament, including a resounding 7-2 victory over Ross Smith in the semi-finals.
The 17-year-old has now lost just once in his last 14 matches on the tour, with that defeat coming against world champion Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals of the European Grand Prix in Germany.
Since bursting onto the darting scene in December by making the World Championship final on his tournament debut, Littler has gone on to better many of the sport’s most iconic players.
Most notably, Van Gerwen and Littler have beaten each other four times apiece in this year's Premier League.
Advert
The pair have developed a friendly rivalry in that time, with Van Gerwen having even conjured up a brutal nickname for the teenager.
Picking up on Littler revealing in December that his celebratory meal of choice was a kebab, Van Gerwen admitted he cheekily refers to him as “kebab boy”.
He said via the Mail Online: “We are always egging each other on and that’s what I always call him.”
Advert
When asked whether Littler had a nickname for him, the Dutchman said: “I don’t know but he doesn’t say it yet I think. I’m twice that boy’s age, right?
“We just have a good relationship, but real conversations we haven’t had.
“I sometimes ask him something, it’s always darts-related. So should I start talking politics with a 17-year-old guy?
“If you ask him about Man United, he knows everything. That’s a generation gap.”