Michael van Gerwen has risked being left with egg on his face after pointing out Luke Littler doesn’t currently hold a winning record in their head-to-head with the pair potentially meeting at the Alexandra Palace.
The Dutchman is going through a sticky patch of form heading into the World Darts Championship next month.
He’s lost five of his last seven matches, including a 6-1 whitewash at the hands of Littler on the European Tour last month.
That win for Littler saw him draw level with Van Gerwen in their head-to-head records with both players winning six matches apiece.
Michael van Gerwen holds a slender winning record over Luke Littler
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Van Gerwen is the only player among the sport’s top-ranked players who comes close to holding a winning record over Littler.
But a deep dive into the stats shows that Littler does still hold the advantage over Van Gerwen as he’s won 69 legs to his rival’s tally of 60.
Littler also has a slightly better average of 99.75 to Van Gerwen’s 99.66 with the pair on course to potentially meet in the World Darts Championship final.
Littler’s form of late in winning the Grand Slam of Darts and making the final of the Players Championship Final last week has made him the strong favourite to win the season-ending major.
But Van Gerwen has brushed off Littler’s recent form, insisting the 17-year-old is ‘not unbeatable’.
“I’m not playing my best and he’s still not beat me more than I’ve beaten him,” Van Gerwen said.
“Am I scared of him? Not a chance!
“I think it’s a total combination. He’s a good player, of course he is.
Michael van Gerwen has struggled in recent months
PA
“He has the media attention and everything goes his way at the moment, he’s in a flow.
“Luke Littler is not unbeatable. He lost first round in the World Matchplay to me, he lost in the first round in the Grand Prix.
“Then he is winning a tournament again, then [Luke] Humphries won. You have Mike De Decker winning a tournament and Richie Edhouse the European Championship. No one is unbeatable.
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“Of course his standard I think is great for the game. He’s got the capability of doing it for a long time.”
Van Gerwen will open his World Darts Championship against either James Hurrell or Jim Long while Littler will face Ryan Meikle or Fallon Sherrock.