Van Gerwen beats Littler in World Matchplay first round
Michael van Gerwen is yet to win a ranking title in 2024
- Published
Three-time winner Michael van Gerwen beat teenager Luke Littler 10-6 in the opening round of the World Matchplay in Blackpool.
Van Gerwen, who has been world champion three times, has been below his best in 2024 but showed glimpses of brilliance to brush aside Littler.
Matchplay debutant Littler, who has won a ranking event every month in 2024, struggled for fluency at times and was casual at the oche on a number of occasions.
The pair exchanged breaks early on, but Van Gerwen led 3-2 and 6-4 at the intervals before closing out the win.
The Dutchman finished with a 101.93 average and was 43.5% on checkouts as he set up a second-round tie against Joe Cullen.
"This means a lot to me because I've been going through a rough time," Van Gerwen, who has won six of his 10 matches against Littler, told Sky Sports.
"To actually do something good and be rewarded for all your hard work is always nice."
Elsewhere, number three seed Michael Smith beat Gary Anderson 10-5 to progress.
Smith, world champion in 2023, suffered a double early break but then won seven legs on the spin to take control.
The Winter Gardens crowd were singing "Scotland get battered everywhere they go" to Anderson during Smith's turnaround, prompting the Scot to gesture '2-1', referencing England's defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday.
Chris Dobey awaits Smith in the second round after he beat Ritchie Edhouse 10-7.
The game was nip and tuck, with Dobey twice hitting double-double checkouts, until he won three legs on the spin to seal the win.
Somerset's Ryan Searle recovered from going 2-0 down to beat Australia's Damon Heta 10-4 and set up a second-round game against 2018 world champion Rob Cross.
World champion Luke Humphries and defending champion Nathan Aspinall progressed on Saturday with a 10-4 win over Germany's Ricardo Pietreczko and 10-8 victory over Luke Woodhouse respectively.
Former champion Peter Wright was knocked out on Sunday, though, alongside seventh seed Dave Chisnall.
Wright lost 10-5 to Andrew Gilding, while Chisnall was thrashed 10-2 by Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski.
The tournament concludes on Sunday, with the final at 20:00 BST.
World Matchplay round-two fixtures and order of play
Tuesday, 16 July
Session starts at 19:00 BST
Gerwyn Price v Ross Smith
Nathan Aspinall v James Wade
Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting
Jonny Clayton v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Wednesday, 17 July
Session starts at 19:00
Krzysztof Ratajski v Andrew Gilding
Rob Cross v Ryan Searle
Michael van Gerwen v Joe Cullen
Michael Smith v Chris Dobey