Posted by It was a strange night in Birmingham, with the atmosphere slightly subdued compared to previous weeks, and differing levels of darts on show.
Littler’s 6-5 semi-final win over Humphries was sublime, with the teenager making it six successive wins against the man who beat him in January’s World Championship final.
The 17-year-old trailed 2-0 before winning five legs in a row, but Humphries forced a decider and had the throw but Littler, who averaged 107.23, claimed it.
Van Gerwen overcame Nathan Aspinall 6-4 in the quarter-finals and, despite only averaging 93.28, beat Michael Smith by the same margin in the semi-finals.
There were moments of brilliance in the final, including a 125 checkout from Van Gerwen, but there were plenty of scrappy darts with the Dutchman averaging 90.38 and Littler 88.12.
They exchanged four successive breaks in leg three to six, before Van Gerwen claimed three in a row to seal the success.
It was a much-needed return to form for the three-time world champion, with his play-off place starting to look in doubt after the poor run.
Elsewhere, there was a ninth quarter-final exit for Peter Wright, with the Scot still firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.
Rob Cross lost a decider against Littler in the quarter-finals to lose in the opening round for the fifth week in a row, while last week’s beaten finalist Gerwyn Price is also being cut adrift from the play-off spots in sixth after a first-round defeat to Smith.