'I want to win a game!' – Littler's World Matchplay hope after debut pain

Luke Littler admits his first focus on his second appearance at the Betfred World Matchplay will be to simply "win a game" after his first-round defeat to Michael van Gerwen on his debut last year.

World champion Littler will aim to make it second time lucky at the Winter Gardens when the iconic tournament kicks off live on Sky Sports on July 19 after losing 10-6 to Van Gerwen in 2024.

In addition to the world title he won in January, the 18-year-old's achievements already include the Premier League, Grand Slam of Darts and UK Open, but he says he will be focused on just one target initially in Blackpool.

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"I want to pick up as many trophies as I can, but first of all, I want to win a game at the Winter Gardens," Littler told Sky Sports.

"So, win that first game and then see how it goes from there".

What happened on Litter's disappointing Matchplay debut?

The then-17-year-old's first appearance on the Blackpool stage certainly didn't go to plan, although his round-one opponent was hardly the easiest.

It was a strange match for the most part as Littler got the first break to go 2-1 up with Van Gerwen seemingly in early trouble.

However, the Dutchman broke back immediately, then won the next three legs to lead 5-2.

Both players were scoring heavily, averaging around 110 in the middle of the match, as they shared further breaks at 6-4.

A 146 checkout from Van Gerwen to hold throw gave him an 8-5 advantage as a now wayward Littler couldn't break back and was broken himself again in the last leg.

Assessing Littler's performance, Sky Sports' Wayne Mardle said at the time: "Michael started OK, then went off the boil. Luke won the next two legs and was 2-1 up, then Van Gerwen was in a hole. He wasn't playing well. Then it all changed.

"I don't know if Littler had as much focus as Michael. There was definitely a lot of nonchalance going on. There was a last dart he wanted, he wanted 74 and threw it at T18 while walking. It was all too unfocused, uncaring. Of course he cares...

"I know he took out the 73 [at 8-6 down], but even that was a single 11, going for a treble and he got away with it."

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