Luke Littler’s quick darts exit plans addressed as PDC take motion after withdrawals
Fears have grown that Luke Littler could quit darts after facing a hostile reception from the Netherlands crowd during the World Series of Darts Finals
Luke Littler has threatened to boycott events in the Netherlands(Image: Getty Images)
Luke Littler is not going to retire from darts after he was subjected to fan abuse in the Netherlands. That is according to ex-professional Mark Webster, who believes the world No.1 won’t walk away from the sport despite the booing and whistling from Dutch fans at the World Series of Darts Finals on the weekend.
Littler, 19, faced a hostile environment from the crowd in Amsterdam during his first round win against home favourite Danny Noppert on Friday. The negative reception remained for Littler’s win against Nathan Aspinall in the second round and then his quarter-final defeat to Jonny Clayton on Sunday.
The two-time world champion has taken a stance against volatile fans before, having refused to travel to Germany for the European Tour as a result of booing and whistling there. But, despite his experience in the Netherlands, Webster doesn’t think Littler will leave the sport because of it.
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Luke Littler was on the receiving end of fan abuse(Image: Getty Images)
“No, I don’t think he’s [Littler] going to walk away from the sport over this,” Webster said. “He was obviously very upset about how he was treated in the Netherlands at the weekend, but some of the opponents he played – a home favourite in Danny Noppert – he was going to get some rough treatment there.
“I’m not saying it’s right, and the whistling, I know they’re trying to take it out of the game. The booing, they won’t be able to stop, but the whistling is something that’s a bugbear to a lot of players at the minute. The PDC are trying to get rid of it.
“I spoke to a few of the security guys who are experimenting with stuff within the crowd, but obviously it got on top of Luke Littler this weekend.
“He was saying after games he wasn’t happy with the treatment he got. I don’t like saying it, but a lot of the booing is part of the game now. He kind of has drawn attention to it by speaking about it.
“The whistling is annoying, and I think it’s a bit sharper when the players are throwing and it puts them off. A constant boo, I think players can deal with. Luke has dealt with it in the past, and I’m sure he’ll be okay.
Mark Webster doesn’t see the teenage star walking away from the sport anytime soon(Image: Getty Images)
“If he chooses to miss events in the Netherlands, that’s his prerogative. There is a Premier League night there, which I think he’ll play, but the European Tour, there’s 15 events during the year. He doesn’t really need to go to the Netherlands, so he can cherry-pick there. So if he does decide to boycott, he can still plan out his year, really.”
Littler’s defeat against Clayton ended his hopes of winning all PDC majors in 2026, having won the first six premier events up until the World Series of Darts Finals.
He had been scheduled to feature in Players Championship 29 and 30 in Den Bosch, Netherlands, on Tuesday, September 22 and Wednesday, September 23, but has pulled out of both events, all-but ending his chances of reaching November’s finals in Minehead.
Before Tuesday’s event, Littler sat 125th on the ‘Order of Merit’ in the Players Championship, £16,750 adrift of the final qualification spot given to the top 64 players, and all-but needed to win the last four to give himself a fighting place of qualifying for Minehead.
But, due to the fact he has skipped the two Players Championship events in the Netherlands this week, Littler will no longer be able to book his spot at finals weekend. Littler is next in action when he goes up against Luke Woodhouse in the World Grand Prix on Monday.
