MVG defeats Luke Littler in the Betfred World Matchplay

Two of darts’ biggest names locked horns at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, where van Gerwen emerged victorious.

A 10-6 victory saw the 35-year-old average 101.93, land five 180s and hit 10 of his 23 attempts at a double.

The 35-year-old powered into a 5-2 lead and, although Littler reduced the arrears to 5-4, the 17-year-old paid the price for missing three darts to level in the 10th leg.

Van Gerwen maintained his cushion with a brace of 12-dart holds to move 8-5 ahead, before capping off a relentless display to send Littler packing.

“This means a lot to me,” said van Gerwen, a World Matchplay champion in 2015, 2016 and 2022.

“It’s always a joy to play games like this. Luke is the man in form, he has incredible talent, but you have to face the challenge.”

Monday’s play also saw Michael Smith, Ryan Searle and Chris Dobey advance to the last 16.

Smith produced a blistering mid-match burst to defeat his former mentor Gary Anderson, recording his highest Blackpool average of 102 to run out a 10-5 winner.

2018 champion Anderson started magnificently, following up a 101 checkout in the opening leg with a double-double 92 outshot to establish a 3-0 lead.

However, Smith responded with an astonishing seven-leg spell to seize control at 7-3, before backing up a brace of 12-darters with a clinical 90 kill to prevail.

“I was trying too hard early on,” conceded Smith. “I have so much respect for Gary. I used to be in the same management stable as him and we’re still really good friends.”

Smith’s reward is a second round clash against Chris Dobey, who beat him at the same stage of last year’s World Matchplay and World Championship.

Dobey booked his place in the last 16 with a battling 10-7 win against debutant Ritchie Edhouse

Edhouse – courtesy of 130 and 116 combinations – led 5-3 at one stage, but Dobey’s superior scoring turned the tide.

The former Masters champion won seven of the next nine legs to complete the comeback.

“I knew it was going to be tough and I really had to battle up there,” reflected Dobey, a quarter-finalist last year.

“This has been a place where I’ve struggled in the past, but that changed last year and I feel at home on the stage now.”

In the evening’s opener, Searle dispatched Australian number one Damon Heta 10-4 as he converted three ton-plus checkouts and averaged 101.

Trailing 2-0, Searle conjured up 167 and 142 checkouts in consecutive legs to level before a 130 finish in leg 10 catapulted him to an emphatic victory.

“Something has just clicked for me over the last few days,” admitted the 36-year-old, who now takes on 2019 champion Rob Cross for a place in the quarter-finals.

The second round gets underway tonight, as reigning champion Nathan Aspinall plays 2007 winner James Wade, while world number one Luke Humphries meets Masters champion Stephen Bunting.

2020 champion Dimitri Van den Bergh – fresh from his nine-dart heroics on Sunday – faces 2023 runner-up Jonny Clayton, as 2022 finalist Gerwyn Price takes on former European champion Ross Smith.