Topics: Darts, Premier League, Luke Littler
Michael van Gerwen responded with a word of warning when asked about a potential match between himself and 'the next Luke Littler'.
Van Gerwen was knocked out of the most recent Premier League night on Thursday in the quarter-finals, losing 6-4 to reigning world champion Luke Humphries.
The night was won by Nathan Aspinall, who beat Michael Smith 6-4 in the final in Rotterdam.
Littler, meanwhile, averaged over 102 and hit four 180s against Smith in the quarter-finals, but suffered a 6-3 loss with 'Bully Boy' up at 60 per cent on his checkouts.
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The 17-year-old is now tied on points with Humphries at the top of the table, with Aspinall three points further back. Van Gerwen rounds out the top four.
Much has been made of Littler's stunning rise to the top of world darts since his run to the final at the World Darts Championship - and attention has already turned to which other young players could join him at the elite level of the sport in the future.
Owen Bryceland, who is just 10 years of age, has already caught the eye of darts fanatics, and averaged 104 at a recent JDC Foundation Tour event.
Ahead of the night of Premier League action on Thursday, Van Gerwen revealed that he had actually been invited to play against Bryceland in an exhibition match - but turned down the opportunity.
He said: "I saw that. They asked me to play him, but unfortunately I was too busy.
"I met him at an exhibition. It's nice, it's good for darts and young people like him.
"But they still have to like it when they get older. It's another six years until he can turn professional - that's a long time, with his friends, doing other sports, going to school.
"It's nice to help the next generation, but they have to make the mistakes themselves. Then they learn the most. That will help them in the long run."
