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Michael van Gerwen triumphed on night two of the Premier League in Berlin as he beat teenager Luke Littler in the deciding leg of a thrilling final.
World Championship runner-up Littler, 17, missed two darts at double 10 to beat Van Gerwen and win a Premier League night for the first time.
But the defending champion and seven-times winner, 34, was able to close out the match at his next visit.
Night one winner Michael Smith remains top of the table with seven points.
Five of the seven matches on night two went to deciding legs – including Van Gerwen beating Smith and Littler knocking out world champion Luke Humphries in the last four – and the final was another gripping contest that went the full distance.
The Dutch thrower and Littler had already met in two previous finals in 2024, with Littler winning the Bahrain Darts Masters and Van Gerwen coming out on top in the Dutch Darts Masters.
Van Gerwen was beaten in his quarter-final on the opening night in Cardiff but posted averages in excess of 100 in all three of his matches in Germany.
“I played really well – at the important moments I was able to keep pressure on my opponents,” he told Sky Sports.
“I feel good, I feel comfortable and there is more to come. It’s good [facing Littler in another final] and I hope we can keep it that way as well.”
Nathan Aspinall and Peter Wright are the only two players yet to win a match in this year’s Premier League, although both put in much-improved performances in their quarter-final losses to Van Gerwen and Humphries respectively.
Night three of the Premier League will take place in Glasgow on Thursday, 15 February.
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