Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen appears to take a swipe at Luke Littler after Premier League defeat in Belfast as he offers a frank assessment of the 17-year-old star

Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen took a swipe at teenage sensation Luke Littler after his Premier League defeat.

The 17-year-old Littler defeated the 34-year-old Van Gerwen 6-3 in the semi-finals in Belfast on Thursday evening.

The Nuke qualified for the final, beating Nathan Aspinall 6–4 to win his first Premier League night.

However, the Dutchman said he was not overly impressed with the Warrington star as he claims his performances were ‘unconvincing’.

Van Gerwen told Viaplay after the match: ‘It went wrong right at the start of that match.

The 17-year-old Littler defeated the 34-year-old Van Gerwen in the semi-finals in Belfast on Thursday evening

Littler defeated Nathan Aspinall in the final to win his first Premier League night

‘I can see that he is not comfortable and then I am just too busy with him instead of concentrating on my own game.

“But there was more to it. I have now played against Luke six times, losing three and winning three.

‘Every time he beat me it wasn’t convincing, while he does that against other players. I just have to use that to my advantage, and that is a downside that it didn’t work out tonight.’

Littler’s triumph moved him into second place behind world champion Luke Humphries and boosted his hopes of making the play-offs at the O2 Arena next month.

He jumped ahead of Van Gerwen in the rankings and the two will meet again in the quarter-finals next week when the Premier League heads to Manchester.

Littler threw a dart at double tops that nearly missed the board and began mocking himself by pretending to look into the crowd for his wayward dart.

Littler defeated Van Gerwen 8-5 in Bahrain earlier this year to win his very first PDC title.

The teenage star continues to enjoy a remarkable rise to the top of the sport after reaching the World Darts Championships earlier this year, losing to Luke Humphries despite leading 4-2.

However, he has returned to win the Belgian Open this month and also won his first Premier League Darts evening against Nathan Aspinall in Belfast this week.

That win saw him hilariously troll himself after nearly missing the board with a double top attempt – as he put his hand to his forehead and pretended to look into the distance at his wayward arrow.

His reaction to his miss sparked laughter from Belfast fans and the Sky Sports commentary team, with Rod Studd announcing ‘there’s blowing’ while joking that the wind had taken Littler’s effort off course.

Aspinall returned to the oche to complete his checkout and then moved into a 3-1 lead.

But Littler had the bit between his teeth – despite his moment of joy – and came roaring back to seal a 6-4 win.