Luke Littler’s brutal nine-word response to Newcastle crowd after shock Premier League defeat

Premier League Darts opening night was in Newcastle, and Luke Littler lost to tournament debutant and World Darts Championship runner-up Gian van Veen in the quarter-finals

Luke Littler appears to have teased Newcastle United fans about their loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup semi-finals after being beaten on Premier League Darts opening night in the North East.

Gian van Veen beat last year’s Premier League runner-up Littler in the quarter-finals 6-4. The world champion received a mixed reception from the Geordie crowd, with one or two boos while walking out offset by cheers and songs for him during his time at the oche.

“Newcastle, you were brilliant,” Littler captioned an Instagram post showing him watching the rest of the tournament on a projector. “Onto next week. PS 3-1.”

The postscript appears to be referencing Newcastle’s last match, a 3-1 loss to Manchester City in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final. That game took place the night before he played at the city’s Utilita Arena.

Littler acknowledged before the match that he would not be watching the game. “If it was 2-1 [on aggregate], then maybe, but 2-0 down going to the Etihad [Stadium], yeah, it’s not good.”

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The teenager was also bracing for boos from the crowd, despite conceding he had cheered them on in last year’s Carabao Cup final, when the Mapgies beat Manchester United’s rivals Liverpool. However, his plan to quieten the noise did not work out.

Littler recalled: “Last year, my first game was against Stephen Bunting, and I beat him 6-0, and it was over in about nine minutes, so it was quick on and off.” He added: “It’s all banter at the end of the day.”

Twelve months ago, he won the night in Newcastle, but fell at the first hurdle this time around. However, he still did not receive as rough a reception as he did on his first Premier League visit in 2024.

Newcastle players, including Dan Burn, Harvey Barnes and Sean Longstaff, were also in attendance on that occasion. Eddie Howe, though, was caught off guard by their night out.

He said the next day: “You’ll need to give me a list of names, please. Hopefully it wasn’t a late night? Maybe they should’ve been in fancy dress!”