Luke Littler rubs Michael van Gerwen's face in it after winning Premier League Darts clash

was braggadocious in victory after downing in Birmingham's nightly final. The teenage talent has now mathematically secured his place in finals night at The O2 later this month, and he says he will enjoy watching his rivals scrap it out to join him there.

Littler needed last-leg deciders to get past and earlier in the night, but he made quicker work of three-time world champion Van Gerwen with a 6-4 triumph. 'The Nuke' became the first player to win five Premier League nights in a single season under the competition's current format, which moved him nine points clear at the top of the table.

While he can afford to take his foot off the gas, others are still in the heat of battle. Second-place Luke Humphries has a healthy cushion inside the top four, but Gerwyn Price, Van Gerwen, Aspinall and Rob Cross are all in the hunt for the remaining places.

After coming out on top in Birmingham, Littler took the opportunity to needle his rivals, including Van Gerwen, who was visibly deflated after narrowly missing out on what would have been his first nightly win of the season.

"I'm nine points clear, away from Luke [Humphries], I'm very happy at the minute and confident I'll stay at the top," Littler told Sky Sports. "There are still a few weeks to play.

"It's getting a bit nitty-gritty at fourth and fifth with Nathan and Michael. I've done Nathan a bit of a favour there [by beating Van Gerwen]. It's going to be a good few weeks watching them scrap it out for the top four while I'm cruising at the top."

Van Gerwen looked like he would end his Premier League drought when he went 2-0 up, and then 3-1 up against Littler early in their showdown. The Dutchman was clinical as he took out a handful of finishes in the 60s and 70s, stretching his lead despite being outscored by his younger opponent.

MVG was unable to live with Littler, however, and fell behind once he hit top gear. 'The Nuke' risked blowing his chances of victory when he missed a big 12 and only gave himself one dart for the match at 5-4 up, which he missed. But Van Gerwen stepped up and spurned opportunities of his own, which made it all the more frustrating when Littler returned to the oche and finished the job.