Michael van Gerwen in astonishing dig at 'poo pants' rivals as he makes claim over Luke Littler's standing

Darts superstar Michael Van Gerwen has astonishingly claimed world championship rivals who aim to fly under the radar are a bunch of "poo pants".

The puerile response from the three-time world champion followed a question from a reporter over embracing the limelight in the wake of his dominant victory over fellow Dutchman Richard Veenstra. Van Gerwen is adamant he relishes the spotlight as he aims to lift yet another title at the Ally Pally showpiece – his first since 2019.

Speaking after the comprehensive 4-0 trouncing over compatriot Veenstra, he interjected to a question about players who don't crave attention, stating: "Because they are all poo pants. If they want to go under the radar, audible raspberry noise. Me, worry about what the crowd does, really? I have more experience than that, I don't really care."

And he also weighed in on the breakout start of the tournament as he compared himself to 16-year-old Luke Littler as he also rose to prominence in his teens. He added: "Yes and no. I think if you look talent wise, I think I am slightly better but he doesn't care wherever he plays and that's why I admire him. He is a big talent player. He can win a lot of tournaments in the future of darts, 100 per cent."

But further questions about the teenage prodigy were given short shrift by Van Gerwen. He responded: "Are we going to talk about the Luke Littler or are we going to talk about the world championships? No, I am winding you up, of course you are going to get questions about Luke Littler."