Luke Littler showcased exceptional talent to secure victory against Michael van Gerwen, claiming his third Premier League night of the season in Berlin.
The 19-year-old achieved a remarkable semi-final win over Gerwyn Price, setting a new highest average of 108.58 in Berlin. However, it was in the final where he truly excelled.
After racing to a 3-0 lead, Littler was challenged as Van Gerwen, a seven-time Premier League champion, fought back to tie the match. Littler managed to regain the advantage by holding his nerve in the seventh leg, followed by a spectacular 170 checkout—deliberately set up with a single on his previous turn—bringing him one leg away from claiming victory.
Though Van Gerwen, 36, broke back in the ninth leg, the match appeared to head towards a decisive final leg. Nonetheless, world number one Littler found an extra gear and executed another impressive 170 checkout to clinch his third night win in just four weeks.
Van Gerwen, who had not secured a victory since the second week of the season, might find it perplexing that Littler continues to outperform him, having also achieved a maximum checkout against the Dutchman in Dublin the previous week.
With this latest triumph, Littler ascends to the top of the Premier League standings at the season's midpoint. His performance marks a significant comeback, having previously occupied seventh place after the initial four weeks of competition.
"This is definitely the best I've played in a night," Littler remarked to Sky Sports. He shared his intention to pursue Jonny Clayton, who led the standings prior to this event. Now that he has accomplished this goal, Littler may aim to match or surpass the record of six nightly wins he set last year.
Rock off mark but soon falters
Northern Ireland's Josh Rock has faced challenges during his Premier League debut, having lost in the quarter-finals for the first seven weeks. Following a similar path to Stephen Bunting in 2025, Rock achieved his first points in Berlin, where Bunting had previously secured a nightly win.
Rock finally found his stride with a well-deserved quarter-final victory over Clayton, the standings leader entering the night. However, he struggled in the semi-finals against Van Gerwen. Entering the event with the lowest average (91.67) among the eight competitors and a checkout percentage of 21.67%, Rock showed improvement in Berlin, yet his finishing continued to fall short of optimal levels.
He missed opportunities to go 3-0 ahead against Van Gerwen, as his doubling continued to prove problematic, culminating in an 18.75% success rate on checkouts for the match. It raises the question of whether the emotional weight of his quarter-final win—where a visibly emotional Rock sank to his knees in relief—drained his energy.
After his quarter-final match, Rock told Sky Sports, "I had to show my emotions—relief is an understatement. I'm here to win as much as I can, and it just hasn't clicked for the first seven weeks. But I'm on the board now."
"Yes, Jonny didn't play up to scratch, but neither did I. I was trying too hard because I wanted to win. I proved it [that I deserve to be in the Premier League] in the end."
Premier League Darts night eight results
Uber Arena, Berlin
Quarter-finals
Jonny Clayton 3-6 Josh Rock
Luke Humphries 3-6 Michael van Gerwen
Luke Littler 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Gian van Veen
Semi-finals
Rock 3-6 Van Gerwen
Littler 6-4 Price
Final
Van Gerwen 4-6 Littler
Premier League Darts table 2026
| Position | Player | Nights won | Matches won | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luke Littler | 3 | 11 | 21 |
| 2 | Jonny Clayton | 2 | 11 | 19 |
| 3 | Gerwyn Price | 1 | 8 | 14 |
| 4 | Michael van Gerwen | 1 | 7 | 13 |
| 5 | Luke Humphries | 0 | 6 | 11 |
| 6 | Gian van Veen | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| 7 | Stephen Bunting | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 8 | Josh Rock | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Premier League darts week nine fixtures
Thursday, 2 April - AO Arena, Manchester
Quarter-finals
Michael van Gerwen v Stephen Bunting
Gerwyn Price v Luke Humphries
Gian van Veen v Luke Littler
Jonny Clayton v Josh Rock
Premier League Darts format and points system
Premier League Darts consists of a 16-week initial league stage, featuring quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals each night. Each of the eight competitors is assured matches against the other seven in weeks one through seven and weeks nine through fifteen, with weeks eight and sixteen fixtures determined off the table. Thus, the matchup in Sheffield will feature fourth against fifth on the last league-stage night, with playoff spots possibly at stake.
Players earn two points for winning a quarter-final, an additional point for a semi-final win, and five points for winning the night. The top four players after the group stage advance to the playoff night at the O2 Arena in London on 28 May, where the first faces the fourth and the second meets the third in a best-of-19-leg match. The final, contested over the best of 21 legs, follows. In the event of tied points after the 16 weeks, rankings are determined by the number of nights won and subsequently by matches won.
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