Luke Littler has accused Michael van Gerwen of trying to get in his head before matches. The duo have enjoyed some epic battles, including the Nuke's World Championship final triumph earlier this year. 

Ahead of matches, players throw darts against a practice board to decide who goes first in a match. Littler has revealed that Van Gerwen attempts mind games to put him off. However, the 18-year-old says he always wins. 

Littler told the Stick To Football podcast: “Before every tournament, before we go on stage, we throw for nearest bull to see who goes first and every time I’ll go over to Michael van Gerwen, and he’ll try to get in my head about hitting the bullseye first but always get it before he does!”

The world No. 2 has tended to get the better of Van Gerwen in the biggest tournaments. He has won seven of their last 10 meetings and has dominated this year’s Premier League. Second-placed Luke Humphries is eight points behind Littler, who seems destined to feature in May’s play-off.

Littler’s remarkable form against his rivals has come in part because he enjoys the pressure of the biggest moments in darts.

He continued: “The only reason why I pull out of tournaments is to get a bit of a break from the sport. We’re playing every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at least, so we need that break. Despite the busy schedule, I still enjoy playing and I love the walk ons and being on stage in front of the fans, it’s great.

“For me, if your opponent is sat on a double to win and you’ve got a 100+ checkout, but I think to myself to let him go and I’ll hit. The pressure moments are my favourite part of the sport. The fans will get on your back if you miss your first dart at a checkout and if you’re miles out, then the pressure is on, but when it goes in on the third dart, it’s amazing.”

Darts’ popularity has soared in recent years, but so too has the quality on stage. Littler believes the biggest stars from years gone by would ‘struggle’ to win so many tournaments. However, he is still eyeing Phil Taylor’s record of 16 World Championships.

Littler said: “Phil Taylor was my idol. If I can be bothered to stay in darts for that time, I could maybe beat his record. He was 52 when he won his 16th world title. If I want to, then I will.

“There’s a record there to be broken, but it’s going to take some doing. He also won the World Matchplay 16 times, so he’s won two of the big majors 16 times – it’ll take some doing.

“]The competition] is a lot better now. You still had Phil Taylor, Eric Bristow – it was still a good field, but nowadays, I think Phil would struggle.”