Luke Littler confronted extra hostile booing after he handled crowd with seven-word comment
Luke Littler was booed by the crowd during his last-16 clash with Rob Cross and the teenager was not afraid to respond to the hostile atmosphere at the Ally Pally
Luke Littler fired back at the Ally Pally crowd after receiving boos during Monday night’s World Darts Championship clash. The teenage prodigy, who holds the Sid Waddell trophy, delivered a sarcastic thanks to supporters for “paying for” his prize money.
The 18-year-old overcame Rob Cross 4-2 in the round of 16, posting an average of 106.58 – the third-highest at this year’s tournament. Nevertheless, Littler found himself as the underdog by a considerable margin, with the majority rallying behind Cross.
Following the loss of a set to Cross, Littler struck back with vengeance by averaging 125.25 in the third set to take command of the match.
“I’m not bothered [by the booing]. Really not bothered. You guys pay for tickets and you pay for my prize so thanks for booing me,” Littler told Sky Sports as the crowd booed back. “No one wanted me to win but I proved them wrong yet again.
“It’s not in reach just yet. You’ve got to get to the final. I’ll enjoy two days off then I’ll be back on New Year’s Day. I spend New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in London, so we’ll be doing that again.”
This marks another occasion where Littler has taken aim at spectators. In a Premier League fixture during 2024, the Manchester United supporter gestured ‘2-0’ with his fingers after Liverpool’s defeat to Everton.
This naturally occurred at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, which wound up quite a few Reds supporters in the process. He was met with jeers from across the venue, but he carried on provoking them by cupping his ears towards the crowd.
He would then persist with this wind-up on stage and discuss it later. “I’m just gonna expect the worst,” he told Sky Sports. “If it’s not that bad then I’ll take it as a positive. Fans can’t really take the banter but that’s all I do is have a bit of banter.” He would also deliver a seven-word comment, while grinning: “It was a good result for Everton!”.
Discussing Littler’s remarks after Monday’s clash with Cross, Wayne Mardle said on Sky Sports: “He was being annoyed and kind of angered through that game. And look, this is when winning…this is how the emotion comes out.
“Just incredible. We’ve not really seen that from him, we know he’s got something in him that’s like, ‘I want to, kind of, keep them quiet.’ He’s said this at Grand Slams before, he wants to shut the crowd up.
“But you don’t want them against you; you never, ever want them against you because it can be a long and lonely road – just ask Gerwyn Price about that, he wants to turn it around.”
Littler will now face Luke Woodhouse or Krzysztof Ratajski in the quarter-finals. Those two compete this Tuesday at 12.40pm in the opening match of the afternoon session. Others taking part today include Welshman Jonny Clayton, Josh Rock and Michael van Gerwen.
