Michael van Gerwen: Dutchman wins Players Championship 21 in Wigan as Luke Littler falls short

Michael van Gerwen put in a stellar display to topple Dave Chisnall at Players Championship 21 as Luke Littler fell short in his attempts to land back-to-back titles.

Dutch star Van Gerwen averaged just shy of 107 as he powered past Chisnall in an 8-4 victory to pick up his first ranking title of 2024 in Wigan.

Littler, who has won an astonishing 33 per cent of the events he's entered this year, saw his rampant 15-match winning run come to an end as Maik Kuivenhoven pulled off a shock 6-3 victory in the last 16 to end his hopes of landing back-to-back titles.

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"The most important thing is I always keep believing in my own ability," said Van Gerwen. "I'm pleased with my performance and pleased with my new darts.

"I've underperformed at these events - I didn't play well enough. But to be back on this tour and to actually win one feels good.

"I want to win, I want to perform, and I want to do the right thing for myself. There's a lot more to gain and to fight for."

After opening his challenge with a hard-fought 6-4 success against Lee Cocks, Van Gerwen averaged 99 in sweeping aside Ryan Meikle and Karel Sedlacek. This was followed by successive 6-3 wins against James Wade and Gian van Veen, while he dispatched another fellow Dutchman in the semi-finals, running out an emphatic 7-2 winner against Kuivenhoven.

Chisnall - a semi-finalist on Tuesday - went one step better 24 hours later, celebrating impressive 6-1 victories against Jose de Sousa and Jonny Clayton earlier in the afternoon.

The 44-year-old proved too strong for his St Helens counterpart Stephen Bunting in the last eight, before surviving four match darts in his semi-final win over Ritchie Edhouse, who rallied from 6-2 down to level.

Edhouse claimed a host of major scalps at the Robin Park Tennis Centre, dumping out former Lakeside champions Jelle Klaasen and Christian Kist to ignite his title challenge. He also whitewashed Austrian veteran Mensur Suljovic and fought back from 5-2 down to deny Damon Heta in the quarter-finals, only to lose out to Chisnall in a dramatic finale.

The 2024 PDC ProTour season continues with Players Championship 22-23 in Leicester on September 24-25.

What's next on Sky Sports?

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The 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix is next on the Sky Sports darting calendar.

The annual £600,000 tournament will take place at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester from October 7-13, as 32 of the world's top stars compete for the coveted title which was won by Luke Humphries.

Humphries celebrated his maiden TV ranking title with victory over Gerwyn Price in last year's tournament, and the world No 1 will return to defend his title later this year.

Six-time champion Michael van Gerwen is also set to star, with teenage superstar Luke Littler poised to make his double-start debut in the East Midlands.

In a change to last year's format, Saturday's semi-finals on October 12 will be contested over the best of nine sets, with the final set to be played over the best of 11 sets on Sunday, October 13.

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