Michael van Gerwen was shocked to discover he’s been lined-up for a quickfire Ally Pally revenge shot at Luke Littler.
The Green Machine gets going tonight in the Dutch Darts Masters against Dirk van Duijvenbode. Victory could see van Gerwen meet Littler in Saturday’s quarter-finals in a repeat of the World Championship Final which The Nuke won.
Initially, due to the draw set-up and seedings, the three-time king of darts didn’t think it was a goer as he stated: “That’s just not possible?” However, van Gerwen soon realised after checks with PDC chiefs that, by missing last weekend’s opening World Series event in Bahrain due to a family break and not amassing any World Series points, he is currently out of the top-four bracket and now on course for a last-eight showdown with Littler.
He then said: “Oh yes. Of course. I skipped Bahrain and so I didn’t score any points. I drew one of the tougher possible opponents. Also that I can get Littler afterwards. Nice, isn’t it?”
Littler knows a charging MVG could be coming, but he’ll have to deal with Belgian ace Dimitri Van den Bergh first in tonight’s first jousts to create the crunch.
He said: “If Michael and I both win our first match, then we will indeed have to play against each other. He is playing a kind of home match and will be the crowd’s favorite. But yes, I just have to do my thing.”