Michael van Gerwen's 'scandalous' Luke Littler claim, 'crying' comment, painful admission

The darts world is seeing an intriguing rivalry develop between Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler.

It pits the greatest player of his generation and one of the best of all time versus the teen sensation who has transcended the darting world. Prior to the beginning of the Premier League, Van Gerwen had stern words for the new world champion, who arrived 45 minutes late for a media day.

The forthright Dutchman asserted that the PDC should "stop treating him as a baby". Elaborating on his point, he added: "He's 18-years-old. It's a professional sport, so you have to be responsible for your actions, which are as simple as that.

"If he turns up late for an interview, I don't really mind. But seven other people were waiting for him, that's not really nice."

The duo went on to deliver a thriller in their Belfast quarter-final, with Van Gerwen edging to a 6-5 victory even as Littler wowed with an average just shy of 114. The mutual respect between the pair is evident, but MVG stops well short of Luke Humphries' more brotherly approach to the youngster.

Van Gerwen hasn't been afraid to criticise Littler and the coverage he has received since bursting onto the scene. Here's a round of what Van Gerwen has said about Littler...

The pair have already played each other on numerous occasions. One meeting, at the Czech Open last year, saw Littler storm to a 6-1 victory with an average of 110.57. Incredibly, Van Gerwen's average was even higher at 112.19.

He still managed a bit of banter, playfully posting an image of him pretending to strangle Littler and wrote: "This is not gonna happen again. Fantastic game by @LukeTheNuke180 - what a talent. All the best."

However, MVG is among those who reckon that Littler's rapid rise has