An unfiltered Michael van Gerwen slammed Luke Littler once again after beating the teenager in the final of the Darts Premier League night 11 in Birmingham.

Littler had been hoping for a third-straight win in the competition - and would have been the first person to have achieved the feat had he done so - but missed out in the final, losing 6-3 to his Dutch rival.

The 17-year-old had once again got the better of world champion Luke Humphries in a rematch of the world finals at the start of this year, beating his fellow Brit 6-5 in a thriller of a semi-final.

Also getting the better of Rob Cross in his first game of the night, it looked like Littler would run riot again to further extend his lead at the top of the table days after making the front cover of Forbes 30 under 30, but a resilient Van Gerwen stepped in his way to secure his fourth nightly win of the competition.

After the evening's play, the Dutchman, 34, and seven-time Premier League champion, who had previously said the teen's performances 'weren't convincing', took aim at Littler, insisting he is still the one to beat despite his indifferent recent run of form.

Luke Littler (pictured) came under criticism from Michael van Gerwen following the pair's Premier League match on Thursday

Littler was named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in the Europe Sports & Games class of 2024

Van Gerwen said Littler played 'c**p' and that he will 'wait for him to catch up' in the darting world

'He played c**p tonight and I beat him, that's the reality,' the 34-year-old told SportsBoom.com. 'I'm happy with the win, and we move onto the next one.

'He's obviously done sensational things for the sport, but he will always be the one chasing me. He's around 150 tournaments behind me. I'll wait for him to catch up.'

Littler burst onto the scene with his World Championship run and has since won the Bahrain Darts Masters, the Belgian Darts Masters and a PDC Players Championship.

Despite being branded a celebrity and 'not a darts player' by Nathan Aspinall, Littler has turned the darts scene on its head and has been regarded as the most exciting young prodigy since Van Gerwen himself.

Littler was named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in the Europe Sports & Games class of 2024 a matter of days ago, with young athletes, game developers and entrepreneurs that are making names for themselves included.

His efforts have taken the sport of darts to new levels, but Van Gerwen was left frustrated with his new rival's recognition for his recent success.

'With all due respect, he hasn't won anything yet,' Van Gerwen added. 'If people haven't won anything yet, should they be getting into Forbes?'

The 17-year-old was bidding to win his third night in a row but was stopped by the Dutchman (R) in the final

He remains top of the Premier League table, four points ahead of Van Gerwen and two clear of Luke Humphires

Next week's edition of the Premier League will take place in Rotterdam, where Van Gerwen will be heavily backed by his home crowd to take another nightly win.

He will take on basement sitter Peter Wright first up after Littler faces Michael Smith, and the two could face off again down the line if they win their initial match-ups.

In the table, Little remains top by two points ahead of Humphries in second, with Van Gerwen a further two behind. All three are set to qualify for the play-offs later this year.