Luke Littler gets nightmare draw for World Matchplay Darts as bitter rival who squared up to him faces Luke Humphries

LUKE LITTLER will face Michael van Gerwen in the first round of the World Matchplay Darts.

The Premier League champion, 17, will face the three-time winner in Blackpool, with the tournament getting underway on July 13.

GettyLuke Littler will take on three-time World Matchplay winner Michael van Gerwen[/caption]

World champion Luke Humphries will face German Ricardo Pietreczko – who had a spat with Littler earlier this year.

Pietreczko squared up to Littler on stage after the Brit’s Belgian Darts Open win in March.

The German later described Littler as “arrogant”, a comment that left the world championship runner-up baffled, before Pietreczko later apologised.

Elsewhere in the draw, the highlight tie of the round of 32 sees two ex-world champions come up against one another in Michael Smith and Gary Anderson.

Nathan Aspinall, the reigning Matchplay champion, has been drawn against Luke Woodhouse.

And Aspinall, a good friend of Littler, admitted he was happy not to be paired with the teenage prodigy.

He said: “I’m glad I avoided Luke, definitely.

“I could have drawn Gary (Anderson) or Luke. It’s not Littler who I thought I was going to get!

“Some brutal draws though. Oh my God MVG v Luke. For me Gary v Mike’s probably a better one. The history them two have got.”

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..

The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheSunFootball and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.