Michael van Gerwen: Luke Littler doesn't scare three-time world champion ahead of Alexandra Palace return (2025)

Michael van Gerwen has dismissed any notion that he has anything to fear in Luke Littler, insisting that he is often still on par with the 17-year-old despite a recent dip in form.

For the first time in a long time, Van Gerwen heads to the World Darts Championship not as one of the overwhelming favourites. Littler and Luke Humphries are seen as the two to beat in December.

Indeed, with the two Lukes on a collision course for a semi-final, van Gerwen is flying somewhat under the radar with the focus elsewhere.

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However, the Dutchman, who has three world titles, believes that Littler and Humphries are going to have to keep their run of form going for a lot longer before he will talk about them "dominating" in the same way he and Phil Taylor did.

"I don't know, they've been doing it for... not even a year. Humphries more than a year, but Littler not even a year. We did it for 10 years," Van Gerwen said.

"[Littler] has got the capability of doing it for a long time, but I think... when everyone's turning up, I think you're going to see more interesting games to watch."

"Of course he's (Littler) a good player. Of course he has the media attention and everything goes his way at the moment because he's in the flow.

"But still, I'm not playing my best and he still doesn't beat me more than I beat him. You know what I mean? So that might be an answer.

"Am I scared of him? Not a chance."

Although still confident he can turn up to Alexandra Palace and walk away victorious, the 'Green Machine' admits that he is having to prepare a bit differently due to a dip in his form over the past year, the world no 2 unable to pick up a televised title.

"I think my preparation is slightly different than previous years, but it is what it is," Van Gerwen added.

"You have to deal with the circumstances, of course I wish I'd been playing a little bit better in the last month or so. Before that I think I had some great results at the Pro Tour and the Euro Tour, but you have to deal with the circumstances at the moment.

"At the moment there's still a lot of work to do for this World Championship, and I need to make sure I'm going to deal with that. I need to make sure I'm getting ready, because in two weeks' time the world's going to start.

"Only I have to play a bit better, but not only that, also more consistent. I think that's for me the way forward. I'm going to work on my game in the upcoming days, and I'm sure I'm going to be ready for the worlds."

When will the World Darts Championship take place?

The tournament gets under way at Alexandra Palace on Sunday December 15, with three first-round matches and one second-round match on the opening evening.

There will be live darts over each of the following eight days, including seven afternoon sessions, with the usual three-day break from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day before returning with the third round and a double session on December 27.

The third and fourth rounds will be completed by December 30 before a night off on New Year's Eve, with the quarter-finals held across two sessions on New Year's Day ahead of the semi-finals on January 2 and the final on Friday January 3.

The full day-by-day schedule for this year's tournament can be found here.

Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live from December 15-January 3 on Sky Sports' dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.