Fans spot moment Luke Littler ‘left Michael van Gerwen hanging’ during tense darts Premier League semi-final

LUKE LITTLER suffered a third successive defeat to Michael van Gerwen following a tense semi-final match on Thursday evening.

The pair faced off once again in the fourth Premier League Darts event of the season in Newcastle.

GettyLuke Littler (R) suffered a 6-5 defeat to Michael van Gerwen (L) in Newcastle[/caption] The teenager appeared to leave Van Gerwen hanging before the deciding leg when the Dutchman went to fist bump him

Van Gerwen, 34, stormed to a 5-3 lead over his 17-year-old opponent, but Littler battled his way back level to take it to a deciding leg.

However, just before the final leg got underway some fans spotted the teenager leaving Van Gerwen hanging after the Dutchman went for a fist bump.

One person tweeted: “Van Gerwen got left hanging by Littler…”

While another wrote: “At the Premier League Darts Luke Littler left Michael Van Gerwen hanging #LeftHanging.”

The moment was also spotted by Wayne Mardle and Glen Durrant on commentary.

Mardle joked: “I’ve got to say, I could watch that all day long. He kind of embarrassed Michael.

“But if he had gone on to win the game, it would have been ‘Oh he out-mindgamed him, he did this, he did that’.

“It was just one of those things where… I shouldn’t laugh really! But it was the way Michael looked away, it’s like when you wave at someone.

“But Michael van Gerwen found a way there and the two double 18s under pressure had to go and they went.”

Van Gerwen beat Gerwyn Price 6-4 in the quarter-finals to advance to the semis, while Littler clinched a 6-5 win against Peter Wright.

The Dutchman then went on to defeat Nathan Aspinall 6-4 in the final to extend his lead at the top of the Premier League Darts table.

After the final, Van Gerwen told Sky Sports: “First two legs I played poorly but it’s first to six and I never gave up. I feel confident and as long as I feel confident, I don’t care about the rest.

“I’m not going to give myself any targets. I’m going week by week, no targets, no goals, just keep focusing otherwise I get bored.

“At the moment, the plan works so hopefully I can keep going. Winning is the most important thing, as a darts player you don’t care about anything else.

“I don’t know how many nights I can win, I don’t want to give myself a target but it could be a record this year.

“At this time of year you need to keep your focus going and your motivation going. Everything is going well at the moment and I don’t care about the rest.”