Michael van Gerwen says he has Luke Littler’s number even though he is “not in a good place” this year.
Van Gerwen’s form has dropped off alarmingly in 2024 and he has gone through the calendar year without winning a major televised tournament.
But he has enjoyed an impressive record against the 17-year-old, winning six of their 12 meetings, including a first-round triumph at the World Matchplay in July.
And that gives him confidence going into the World Championship at Alexandra Palace, where he is chasing a fourth title.
“I have not been playing my best performances and I have still got a great record against him,” the Dutchman told the PA news agency.
“Even when I am not playing my best I know it is not easy to beat me so I get a lot of motivation out of that.”
Van Gerwen has had his leanest year on tour since 2021, having made just two finals and two semi-finals of major tournaments, but he is still confident.
“Of course, when you shake a bottle of milk, the cream always comes to the top, I have shown in the last 15 years what I am capable of,” he said.
“I have had tough moments before but I need to make sure I have 100 per cent belief I can do it. I have under-performed this year.
“My game is not in a good place, my results are nowhere near good enough but you need to be positive and make sure you keep your head up.
“You need to make sure you keep positive because if you are negative it is only going to work against me.”
World number one Luke Humphries begins the defence of his title on Sunday night when he takes on Thibault Tricole or Joe Comito.
Humphries got the better of Littler in a memorable 2024 final, even if it is Littler who has become the biggest name in the sport.
The 29-year-old has had another stellar year and knows he would go into a different category if he could become a back-to-back world champion.
“It’d be a massive feather in the cap, only three people have ever done back-to-back and the era we are in which is very, very tough, I feel like it’d be a massive achievement,” he said.
“I have won the World Championship now, there is more pressure on my shoulders but I know what it takes.
“Maybe I don’t give myself the credit sometimes, I forget all the achievements I have unlocked. I am sometimes too hard on myself.
“It has been an incredible 15 months and it is going to be hard to replicate it, but they are the standards I have set myself.
“That would make it a bit more elite, not many players have won two, plenty have won one, so for me that would be a massive feather in my cap.”