World champion Luke Littler knows Michael van Gerwen will be up for revenge when the pair renew their rivalry on the opening night of the Premier League in Belfast.
Littler destroyed the Dutchman in the World Championship final at Alexandra Palace last month to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time.
The 18-year-old plays Van Gerwen on Thursday as the weekly darting roadshow kicks off in Northern Ireland.
“He’s going to be up for it, he’s going to be hungry but I’m up for it as the reigning champion. Whoever wins, it will be big for us,” he said.
“This is the biggest tournament I am going to defend all year around until the Worlds. Tomorrow night it so important to get that first win against Michael.
“I’m feeling OK, I might feel nervous when it does come to the task tomorrow, but there is always nerves, but I’m hoping to make a fast start like I did in the final.
“The first win last year came here in Belfast, so I have got good memories here and I want to kick on.”
World number one Luke Humphries comes into the tournament in good form, having won the rebranded World Masters last week.
Humphries, who begins against Nathan Aspinall, wants to complete the set, having also won the World Championship and World Matchplay.
“It’s one you want to tick off, it is one of those majors you want to win because it is so prestigious,” he said.
“It is so hard to win, it could arguably be harder than any other major because you can’t win it in one day, it takes three months.
“It would be nice to complete the set, the Worlds, the Matchplay and this. This is the biggest one I haven’t got at the moment. It would be nice to be in the club.”
In the other nightly quarter-finals, Chris Dobey opens the show against Gerwyn Price, while Stephen Bunting takes on Rob Cross.
