Van Gerwen emphatically beat fellow countryman Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 but had to wait for the final match of Friday's 8-game slate to find out who he'd be facing.
As World Championship foe Luke Littler was battling it out with Dimitri Van den Bergh, Van Gerwen had his sights set on a rematch with the reigning world champion.
"Of course. That's the best match, let's be honest," said Van Gerwen during a post-game press conference.
"I think it's good for the tournament as well."
Van Gerwen sought a rematch, not revenge against the 18-year-old phenom. "Everyone who knows me knows I handle those things very well.
"It happened. It's a shame, but you can't compare the World Championship with other tournaments."
Van Gerwen and Littler - who beat Van den Bergh 6-4 after a fairly intense battle with the Belgian - met 13 times before and split the wins very evenly with Littler winning seven meetings and Van Gerwen six.
Balancing things out is no priority for the Green Machine, however. "I'm not interested in that.
"We're gonna meet each other again another seven or eight times this year. I don't think people should care that much about it."
