Michael van Gerwen eliminated 17-year-old Luke Littler with a 10-6 victory in their first-round match at the World Matchplay on Monday. Despite both players averaging over 100, Van Gerwen emerged victorious, proving his critics wrong after a challenging year. He will face Joe Cullen in the second round.
Van Gerwen, visibly emotional after the match, expressed his relief and satisfaction. “It’s always enjoyable to play games at that standard,” he said. “You know you will face a guy who has incredible talent, but you have to face it. You can’t let yourself down and have to work for things. I’m glad it paid off.”
The match started with Littler breaking early to lead 2-1, but Van Gerwen quickly recovered, winning the next three legs to lead 5-2. Both players maintained high scores, but Van Gerwen’s 146 checkout and subsequent breaks secured his win.
In another major match, Michael Smith overcame a slow start to defeat Gary Anderson 10-5. Smith, who was down 3-0, won seven consecutive legs to lead 7-3. Anderson, distracted by fans mocking Scotland, couldn’t recover as Smith dominated the latter half of the match.
Smith will next face Chris Dobey, who defeated Ritchie Edhouse 10-7. Meanwhile, Ryan Searle ousted Australian No. 1 Damon Heta with a 10-4 victory.
World Matchplay Darts: Monday Results
- Damon Heta 4-10 Ryan Searle
- Michael Smith 10-5 Gary Anderson
- Michael van Gerwen 10-6 Luke Littler
- Chris Dobey 10-7 Ritchie Edhouse
Tuesday’s Order of Play
- Gerwyn Price vs. Ross Smith
- Nathan Aspinall vs. James Wade
- Luke Humphries vs. Stephen Bunting
- Jonny Clayton vs. Dimitri Van den Bergh
The second round begins on Tuesday at 7 pm, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Action. Matches feature defending champion Nathan Aspinall and world champion Luke Humphries, among others.
Credit: Sky Sports
