Michael van Gerwen silences reporter with savage seven-word jibe after beating Luke Littler at Premier League

Michael van Gerwen silences reporter with savage seven-word jibe after beating Luke Littler at Premier League

WATCH NOW: Stephen Bunting still thinks Michael van Gerwen is the player to beat

Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 09/02/2024

- 14:19

Updated: 09/02/2024

- 14:20

The Dutch former world champion gave a quick-witted reply after his win

Michael van Gerwen silenced a reporter with a brutal response after he beat Luke Littler in the final of night two in the Premier League.

The Dutchman insisted the Berlin crowd are 'used' to not cheering on one of their home favourites in the tournament.


Van Gerwen put in a stellar display to bounce back from last week's disappointment on night one in Cardiff.

The seven-time champion beat Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith before coming up against Littler for the third time in less than three weeks.

Michael van Gerwen

Michael van Gerwen gave a savage response to a journalist after the Premier League in Berlin

YouTube

The match went to a deciding leg and Littler missed two darts to win it before Van Gerwen took advantage and wrapped up a 6-5 victory.

There were 12,000 fans packed into the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, creating an incredible atmosphere for the players.

There are no German players in this year's tournament and a reporter asked Van Gerwen if that made the reception even more surprising.

The journalist asked: "Are you surprised with that the German audience is so enthusiastic even without a German player today?"

However, Van Gerwen replied with a savage comment, immediately responding: "Yeah but they're used to it, no?"

The 34-year-old stared back at the reporter and gave a slight wry smile, with silence descending on the press conference for a few seconds.

The reporter didn't reply and Van Gerwen went on to field a question from another journalist in the room.

It can be argued that the three-time world champion isn't wrong with his assessment, though.

Berlin first hosted a night in the Darts Premier League in 2018.

The home fans have only ever seen one German player during the years the roadshow has visited the venue.

That was Max Hopp in 2019, who was invited as one of the nine 'contenders' in the tournament's previous format.

No German player has ever automatically qualified, or been picked as a wildcard, for the tournament since its inception in 2005.

LATEST SPORTS NEWS:

Michael van Gerwen

Michael van Gerwen said the Germany fans are used to not cheering on one of their own players

YouTube

Germany currently have two players in the top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit, with Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler 22nd and 23rd respectively.

Ricardo Pietreczko (36th) and Florian Hempel (60th) are the other two German players in the top 64.

Van Gerwen did admit it was a good atmosphere on Thursday and says he can use it to his advantage if he is playing well.

He said: "Yeah I think it was quite good. Of course in a big venue sometimes you don't hear everything, do you know what I mean?

Michael van Gerwen

Michael van Gerwen beat Luke Littler to win night two in the Premier League

Getty

"When I'm focused a lot then I need to make sure I only focus on myself, on my own game, and that's what I did today.

"Sometimes it is [easier to focus in a big arena] but it depends on how you play. If your focus and your confidence is there, of course it is a lot easier."

You may like