Michael van Gerwen warns there ‘cannot be any mercy’ for Luke Littler as the teenage star prepares join the ‘big boys’ on his Premier League debut

Michael van Gerwen says there will be no mercy for Luke Littler when he makes his Premier League debut among the ‘big boys’ on Thursday. Whether he actually needs it is another question.

The teenager’s breakthrough has been astonishing across the past month, with his run to the World Championship final followed by a first professional title in Bahrain and a runner-up finish to Van Gerwen in the Dutch Masters.

His next step is appearing on the eight-man, 17-date Premier League circuit, which commences in Cardiff, but there are naturally doubts around how the 17-year-old’s game might hold up under the avalanche of attention that has suddenly come his way.

Van Gerwen, the three-time world champion, is among Littler’s admirers but has also questioned the escalation in hype.

‘He had a fabulous last two months but two months only, yeah?’ Van Gerwen said. ‘He needs to do it for a very long time. It got everything to be a top-10 player in the next 20 years. Do you know what I mean? He has got everything. You still have to do it. He is still young.’

Teenage star Littler has made a stunning start to his career and has shown no signs of nerves as he prepares for a World Championship final rematch against Luke Humphries on Thursday

Luke Humphries, who beat Littler in the world final, had previously called on fellow pros to protect the teenager from the rise in attention. Van Gerwen is evidently not following that plan.

‘Of course not,’ he said. ‘Welcome to the big boys. Them days have gone. He is not a youth player anymore. Of course, he’s still only a kid. Now you have got to battle against each other on the stage, there cannot be any mercy or whatsoever.

‘You have to fight for every leg, every game. Everyone plays for themselves.’

Littler is hardly struggling for confidence ahead of his Premier League opener against Humphries.

‘I have already beaten five of the Premier League line-up over the past two weeks,’ Littler said. ‘I know I can beat anyone when I am on it. I also know the other seven guys will be on it every week.

‘Going over to Bahrain and Den Bosch it gives me every confidence. I have beaten Gezzy (Gerwyn Price) twice. I beat Van Gerwen in the final. I lost to Van Gerwen in the final. It has given me a confidence boost as I know how to beat them.’