Michael van Gerwen reigned victorious over in the final of last year's in Berlin, but the win wasn't without its controversy. The Green Machine secured a close 6-5 win over the Nuke on the night, but the result could have panned out differently if was pulled up on a subtle rule break.

The game was tied at 5-5 when Littler missed two attempts at checking out 80 with a double 10, before the Dutchman nailed a double four on his second attempt to seal the deal. However, fans called out MVG in the wake of his victory, as footage frequented social media of him entering the encroachment zone as Littler was throwing for glory. As players take to the oche, their opponent must give ample space to avoid obstructing officials and broadcasters.

However, the video footage showed Van Gerwen's feet to be over the edge of the area he's not permitted to enter until Littler's darts had actually landed on the board. According to the Regulation Authority's rules: "The non-throwing player must stand whilst waiting for their throw.

"This position will be behind the throwing player and outside the exclusion zone in a position that does not obstruct officials or broadcast facilities. The non-throwing player must not enter the exclusion zone behind or at the side of the oche until the throwing player has released the final dart of their throw."

While officials are deemed responsible to spot any infringement, it appears as though Van Gerwen's rule-break flew under the radar - but darts fans were quick to call him out on social media for it. One person wrote: "Should be a rule in darts that you have to stand by your table when the other player throws." While another claimed: "He always does this, but PDC too scared to punish him."

It's not the first time that Van Gerwen has been pulled up on standing too close to players either, with irate with his opponent following a 6-0 loss to him at the 2023 . Responding to the furore, Van Gerwen said: "I don't really know what his problem was but you have to concentrate yourself and watch your own game.

"That is exactly what I did. Games can get tense and you need to focus yourself, and that is exactly what I did, he was losing the game so he had to say something." The Premier League returns to Berlin on Thursday.

Van Gerwen will in his quarter-final, still searching for his first nightly win of the year. Elsewhere in the opening round of matches, faces , battles , and Chris Dobey is up against Littler, who's atop the table by eight points after his four triumphs.