Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Luke Littler is the first player to win three nights in this season's Premier League
ByCallum MatthewsBBC Sport senior journalist- Published52 minutes ago
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Luke Littler produced form close to his sensational best to overpower Michael van Gerwen and win his third Premier League night of the season in Berlin.
The 19-year-old beat the previous highest average (now 108.58) in Berlin in his semi-final victory over Gerwyn Price, but it was the final where he really turned it on.
He raced into a 3-0 lead but was pegged back to all square by the seven-time Premier League winner Van Gerwen.
Littler held in leg seven before a stunning 170 checkout - deliberately left with a single on his previous visit - saw him move to within one leg of victory.
He had the throw in the ninth but 36-year-old Van Gerwen broke back and the final looked destined for a final-leg decider.
However, world number one Littler found an extra gear, producing another brilliant 170 checkout to seal his third night win in the past four weeks.
Van Gerwen, who had not won a match since week two before this event, must wonder what it is about Littler, after the world champion also hit the maximum checkout against the Dutchman in Dublin last week.
The victory sees Littler climb to the top of the Premier League standings at the halfway point of the season.
It continues a resurgence from the 2024 winner, who sat seventh after the opening four weeks of the campaign.
"This is definitely the best I've played in a night," Littler told Sky Sports.
Littler spoke last week about chasing down Jonny Clayton at the top of the standings and, with that now achieved, he may well set his eyes on matching or beating the record for the most nightly wins that he set last year with six.
Premier League Darts 2026 fixtures, results and table
- Published1 hour ago
Rock off mark but soon falters
Northern Ireland's Josh Rock has endured a difficult debut Premier League campaign, losing in the quarter-finals in the first seven weeks.
The 24-year-old had followed the trend of Stephen Bunting in 2025 and it was in Berlin where the Liverpudlian picked up his first points with a nightly win.
Rock is now off the mark with a deserved quarter-final win over Clayton, who led the standings going into the night, but he soon faltered in the semis against Van Gerwen.
Rock went into the night with the lowest average of the eight players (91.67) and checkout percentage (21.67%) and, although he was closer to his trademark power scoring in Berlin, his finishing was again well below the required standard.
He missed darts to go 3-0 up against Van Gerwen, his doubling caused problems throughout and he finished the match with an 18.75% success rate on the checkouts.
One has to wonder if the quarter-final and the emotion of that - a visibly emotional Rock sunk to his knees at the end - took too much out of him.
Speaking to Sky Sports after his quarter-final, Rock said: "I had to show my emotions - relief is an understatement. I'm up there to win as much as I can and it just hasn't happened in the first seven weeks but I am 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
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 is played across 16 initial weeks in the league stage with quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final each night.
Each of the eight players is guaranteed to face the other seven in the quarter-finals in weeks one to seven and 9-15, with week eight and week 16 fixtures done off the table. It means we will get fourth v fifth in Sheffield on the final league-stage night, with the play-off spots potentially on the line.
Players earn two points per quarter-final win, an additional point if they win their semi-final and five for winning the night.
The top four players after the group stage progress to the play-off night at London's O2 Arena on 28 May, with first facing fourth and second against third in a best-of-19-leg match. The final, which is the best of 21 legs, follows.
If players are level on points after the 16 weeks then places are decided by nights won and then matches won.
