Luke Littler is happy with Dimitri Van den Bergh’s choice (Image: Getty)
Luke Littler has branded choice to ditch his iconic walk-on song as “good” for players. The youngster was speaking to media following his close-fought 6-4 victory over the Belgian at the Dutch Darts Masters on Friday, when he was probed on Van den Bergh selecting a different track to Pharrell Williams’ ‘Happy’ to walk to the oche to.
On asked what he made of Van den Bergh’s new song choice of ‘Play Hard’ by David Guetta, explained: “I don’t really know. I think it’s good for us players that he’s not there dancing around, so we get to walk on quicker.”
When asked if he doesn’t like to dance, Littler added, with a wry smile: “He can take his time, but it’s a good song.” Van den Bergh had been using Pharell’s track for a number of years before deciding for a chance of tune, with the track becoming iconic in the world of darts as a result.
Previously speaking to as to why he decided to choose the song in the first place, Van den Bergh explained: “My manager always thought I was a very optimistic person, always laughing, always looking at the bright side, positive, anything like that.
“Then he heard this song on the radio and he was like, ‘Dimitri, I have found the song for you!’. So, I put it on and thought, you know what, this feels good, it feels nice, it makes me smile.” Darts fans will know all too well of Van den Bergh’s tendency to dance towards the oche as the falsettos of the song rung out, greeting fans along the way.
But it appears as though the 30-year-old has grown tired of the same record playing over and over, as alluded to by his fresh choice in the music department. A new backing track couldn’t save the Belgian from the hands of Littler however, as ‘The Nuke’ dispatched of his opponent with relative ease during his second competition of the season.
Van den Bergh was eliminated from the Dutch Darts Masters by Luke Littler (Image: Getty)
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Reclecting on his performance, Littler explained: “I felt all-round it was good. Dimitri was with me pretty much all the way so I couldn’t step off. But 2-0 up, just thinking to myself, ‘Just get that 3-0 lead’. But that’s the thing with my game, I can always fall asleep and I know 2-0 up I need to switch on.”
Littler enjoyed a 6-3 win over in the quarter-finals of the competition, before crashing out due to a 7-6 loss to – two men whom he beat on his way to lifting the earlier in January. ultimately reigned supreme in the Dutch Masters, beating Bunting 8-5 in the final to secure his first title of the year.
Littler now looks ahead to Night One of the in February where he will face Van Gerwen for the third time this year. Van den Bergh, meanwhile, faces in the round of 16 at the PDC World Masters come January 31.