Gerwyn Price lavished praise on Luke Littler after defeating the teenage superstar to prevail on Night Six of the BetMGM Premier League in Nottingham.
Price secured his second nightly win of the campaign at the Motorpoint Arena, defeating Stephen Bunting, Michael van Gerwen and Littler to move up to third in the table.
The Welshman won through a high-quality opener against Bunting in the East Midlands, before powering in a 107 average to dispatch Van Gerwen 6-1 in the semi-finals.
Price then defied a 103 average and seven 180s from Littler to run out a 6-3 winner in Thursday’s showpiece, as he extended his incredible winning run against the World Champion to six matches.
“I’m just glad to get another win,” reflected Price, the 2023 Premier League runner-up.
“In the last few years I’ve been quite negative, so I have tried to be more positive this year, and it is showing on the board.
“Before the World Championship I did some work with a sports psychologist trying to put my frame of mind in the right place, and it seems to have worked.”
Littler’s run to a fourth nightly final of the season took him to the Premier League summit at the expense of Luke Humphries, who he overcame in Thursday’s opening quarter-final.
The reigning Premier League champion has been irrepressible over recent weeks, winning 19 consecutive matches while lifting UK Open and Belgian Darts Open titles.
Despite not tasting defeat against Littler since April 2024, Price was effusive in his praise of the Warrington wonderkid, who he believes could dominate the sport for decades.
“Luke is the best player in the world at the minute, and he’s going to be for many years,” Price insisted.
“I think he will beat Phil Taylor’s record of 16 World Championship titles. He is going to get better and better.
“Honestly, Luke is fantastic. I cannot praise him enough. He’s done wonders for this sport, for everybody, including myself.
“Darts was already in a really good place, but he’s taken it to new levels and he deserves all the praise he gets.
“We all need to start winning now, because in the next couple of years, I think he’s going to be unbeatable.”
Price, Littler and Humphries have won two nights apiece in this year’s roadshow, and the 2020/21 World Champion will be eyeing a third nightly victory on his return to home soil next Thursday.
Price will headline Night Seven at Cardiff’s Utilita Arena, and the three-time Grand Slam champion is desperate to deliver in front of a partisan Welsh crowd.
“There’s going to be a lot of pressure on me,” conceded the Markham-born star.
“When the crowd are with you, sometimes it can be tough because you want to win it for them.
“When I go to Wales, I want to perform, I want to win my first game, and I want to win the tournament, but it is going to be really tough.”
2025 BetMGM Premier League
Night Seven - Thursday March 20
Utilita Arena, Cardiff
Quarter-Finals
Chris Dobey v Stephen Bunting
Luke Humphries v Michael van Gerwen
Luke Littler v Nathan Aspinall
Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross
Semi-Finals
Dobey/Bunting v Humphries/Van Gerwen
Littler/Aspinall v Price/Cross
Final
v
All matches best of 11 legs