- Michael van Gerwen admits he gave Luke Littler a cheeky nickname
- The two speedy superstars have developed a fascinating rivalry in 2024.
Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen has revealed the cheeky nickname he gave Luke Littler.
Van Gerwen, 35, and Littler, 17, have beaten each other four times each in this year’s Premier League, and a fascinating rivalry has developed between the pair in 2024.
Both men are on course to reach next month’s end-of-season play-offs, with Littler currently leading the table with 31 points and Van Gerwen seven points further back in fourth place.
Littler’s impressive Premier League campaign follows his remarkable run to the World Championship final earlier in the year, and as he progressed through the tournament, Littler revealed his favorite celebratory food was a kebab.
Van Gerwen has realized this and has now admitted that he cheekily refers to Littler as “the kebab boy”.
Michael van Gerwen (left) and Luke Littler (right) have developed a fascinating rivalry in 2024
Van Gerwen has now revealed that he gave Littler a cheeky two-word nickname.
Littler has made no secret that he loves kebab, and Van Gerwen now calls him “the kebab boy.”
He said: “We’re always encouraging each other and that’s what I always call it.”
Littler’s official nickname is ‘The Nuke’, but Van Gerwen came up with an alternative one.
The Dutchman has several nicknames of his own, including ‘Mighty Mike’, ‘MVG’ and ‘The Green Machine’ due to his tendency to wear green shirts.
He confessed that he doesn’t know if Littler has given him a different nickname in return, but insisted that the two get along well despite their oche rivalry.
“(My nickname?) I don’t know, but I don’t think he says it yet,” Van Gerwen added. ‘I’m twice that kid’s age, right?
‘We just have a good relationship, but we haven’t had any real conversations.
‘Sometimes I ask him something, it’s always related to darts. So, should I start talking politics with a 17-year-old?
‘If you ask him about Man United, he knows everything. That is a generational gap.”
Littler shocked the Liverpool crowd on Thursday by taunting them following the Reds’ defeat to Everton, and then kept his cool to win the night and move to the top of the Premier League table.
Littler’s love for United came to light on Thursday night when he constantly pumped up the crowd in Liverpool by reminding them of the Reds’ 2-0 defeat to Everton in the Merseyside derby the night before.
Littler’s antics were met with boos from the Liverpool crowd, but it didn’t affect the teenager at all as he won his third night of the season, beating Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall and Rob Cross to extend his lead in the top of the table. .
Van Gerwen was celebrating his 35th birthday and beat Peter Wright in his quarter-final, but fell short against Cross and still has work to do to seal a top-four finish.