World Champion Luke Littler silenced a hostile Dutch crowd in Rotterdam after he was given a frosty reception when making his entrance
Luke Littler was booed out of the building at Rotterdam Ahoy as the Premier League travelled across the North Sea to the Netherlands.
Littler, 19, was Public Enemy No.1 in Rotterdam after he clashed with Gian van Veen two weeks ago in Manchester. And as the Nuke made his entrance for a quarter-final clash with Gerwyn Price, he was met by a partizan Oranje crowd.
Littler was booed before even then, getting a bad reception when his face appeared on the screen pre-match. While the Welshman was loudly cheered as the Rotterdam crowd made little secret about who they wanted to win.
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Speaking about the crowd, Wayne Mardle said on Sky Sports”: “The atmosphere [in Rotterdam] is incredible! Michael van Gerwen is now the darling of Dutch darts. It used to be Raymond van Barneveld.
“The crowd are going to play a part, there’s no doubt about it. When Luke Littler was shown earlier, there was booing and hissing. He’s got to put up with this now, having created this little situation.
“He’s got to hold it together, but so have Michael and Gian. I think they will.”
However, the World Champion showed his class and quickly silenced them, ending a run of two quarter-final defeats in two weeks to cruise past the Iceman.
Glen Durrant said: “You can see the concentration levels. There’s no reaction when he’s hitting it. He’s in that zone that a darts player strives for.
“You can’t hear the crowd when you’re at your best.” While Rod Studd added: “Luke Littler silences the Orange Army in Rotterdam, and silences Gerwyn Price, to end a two-week losing streak in quarter-finals.
“He reaches the semi-finals in Rotterdam for the second successive year…
“And that tees up the tantalising prospect of the rematch with Gian van Veen – but only if he can beat the defending champion Luke Humphries.”