Luke Littler 'annoyed by Liverpool crowd' as he suffers Michael van Gerwen collapse

was accused of letting himself get "annoyed" by the crowd in Liverpool as he blew a 4-0 lead to lose to on Thursday night. The Nuke was rampant early on in their Premier League quarter-final before missing a dart for 5-0, and then another big chance to make it 5-1.

He later missed a chance at a bullseye for the match before MVG broke to level the clash at 5-5. Even in the deciding leg, the Dutchman produced a few sloppy visits, but the teenager couldn't take advantage. Van Gerwen eventually took victory with his 16th dart of the leg, taking out double tops and winning through to a semi-final with Luke Humphries.

Littler remains top of the , but his form has faltered in recent weeks. After his dramatic win, Van Gerwen suggested his rival had let the jeers of the Liverpool crowd get to him.

"He (Littler) has twice as many points as me," he said to Sky Sports. "It wasn't a great game. It was a tough game from both of us. He got annoyed with the crowd.

"I didn't play my own game, and he played well in the beginning, but you need to make sure you believe in your own ability, and when you get chances, you've got to take them."

Littler had expected to be , having wound up the crowd at the M&S Bank Arena during his tournament win last year.

Littler mocked Liverpool's 2-0 defeat to Everton the previous evening, and had to say: "Bring on the boos."

Van Gerwen, however, wasn't able to capitalise on his win over Littler. He was beaten 6-4 by in their final four clash, falling short of another big comeback after winning two legs from 5-4 down.

Humphries will play the winner of the match between Rob Cross and Gerwyn Price. The Welshman currently lies fourth overall in the Premier League table, a place ahead of Van Gerwen in the race for finals night at the O2.