sport news Luke Littler brushes past an imperfect Michael van Gerwen in his first Premier ... trends now By Tamara Prenn Published: 20:17 BST, 4 April 2024 | Updated: 20:25 BST, 4 April 2024 1 Viewcomments Luke Littler breezed past a shaky Michael van Gerwen at Manchester's AO Arena to book his place in Thursday evening's semi-finals. Just one week ago, the 17-year-old claimed his first Premier League Darts victory and currently sits second in the standings in matchweek 10 of 17. Victory against the World No 2 sees Littler set to face his close friend - and the opponent he beat in the final in Belfast - Nathan Aspinall, after his earlier despatching of Rob Cross. Littler made the faster start past a wobbly Van Gerwen to claim the first leg, but neither player looked confident in the initial stages. But the teenage darts sensation was first to settle, and went on to take the next two legs before the titleholder got his first leg on the board. Luke Littler is hunting his second consecutive Premier League Darts win after despatching Michael van Gerwen in Thursday night's quarter-final The 17-year-old Manchester United fan is keen to win at his home night at the AO Arena Michael van Gerwen was able to claw his way back to terms but his shaky form saw Littler sweep away victory Van Gerwen yanked the match back under his control with a commanding maximum before sealing an 11-dart break for his second leg, before levelling the score just minutes after his opponent looked to be romping away with the tie. Stopping his run after Van Gerwen missed out on finding the bullseye for a 167, a final double 10 from Littler handed him a fourth leg and set up an ice cold break in the fifth to put himself in the driving seat, and sweep his more experienced rival aside. Ahead of the match, avowed Manchester United fan Littler said that he was keen to claim a second win at his de facto home ground. 'Winning in Belfast gave me a lot of confidence, and it certainly showed that practice does pay off,' the Runcorn native said. 'I'm not far from Manchester myself and I'm a Manchester United fan so it would mean the world to win in front of this crowd. I know it will be tough.' Luke LittlerBelfast Share or comment on this article: Luke Littler brushes past an imperfect Michael van Gerwen in his first Premier League Darts quarter-final 'at home' in Manchester... one week after winning his first night All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility