Littler Faces Backlash in Brighton, Exit Possibly Linked to Van Veen Dispute

Luke Littler endured a difficult night in Brighton, suffering his lowest televised PDC average in a loss to Stephen Bunting, with Wayne Mardle suggesting his early exit from the Premier League quarter-final may be a 'knock-on' effect from his recent spat with Gian van Veen. A week after the highly publicized dispute with Van Veen in Manchester, the world champion experienced another last-eight loss, seeming rattled by a hostile crowd on the tenth night of the competition. Littler was met with jeers upon entering the Brighton Centre and faced ironic cheers during a poor start, from which he was unable to recover. Bunting, who celebrated his 41st birthday on Thursday, could have secured a more comfortable victory, given the multiple opportunities he was afforded on his opponent's throw, but only managed to hit six of his 21 darts at a double. Littler, who changed his darts throughout the match, showed little reaction to the loss, shaking Bunting's hand and exiting the stage meekly after averaging a mere 83.94 and failing to hit a single maximum - his lowest average in a televised PDC match. Former Premier League star Mardle felt that pre-match favorite Littler was nowhere near his usual standard as he suffered another early exit. 'I'm assuming tonight was a reaction to last week, although I don't know. Littler looked quite flat, there were points where he was lobbing the darts, not petulantly but not with the directness he normally throws,' said Mardle. Bunting addressed the boos directed towards Littler in a post-match interview with Sky Sports, saying, 'Thankfully, he is human! It's tough because the crowd was giving him some stick. I like Luke because he's a fantastic lad and I don't like to see that.' Three-time world champion John Part admitted Littler 'didn't look interested' during his subdued display, stating, 'Stephen did what he had to do. It must have been off-putting watching Luke and how he played. He really was off, you can speculate whatever the reasons.' Meanwhile, Jonny Clayton produced a stunning comeback to beat seven-time champion Michael Van Gerwen in a gripping final, moving three points ahead of Littler in the table. The Welshman confirmed that Littler and Van Veen practiced in separate rooms at the Brighton Centre. The 2021 Premier League champion struck a majestic 140 checkout to take a 1-0 lead in the final against Van Gerwen but found himself trailing 3-1 and then 5-2 after a fantastic surge by Van Gerwen. However, Clayton rallied in a remarkable comeback, surviving two match darts at 5-2 down and another pair of match darts at 5-4 down before levelling the contest with another 84 kill on the bullseye to make it 5-5. The 51-year-old then saw out the last-leg decider with a composed 12-darter to complete the comeback and seal nightly victory on the south coast in style. 'I thought the game was over,' admitted Clayton. 'He missed and gave me a chance. We've got to take chances. The last leg was probably my best of the game but they all count, I'm through, back on top of the table and it's time for Luke Littler to start chasing me again.' The BetMGM Premier League moves to Rotterdam for another crucial night of action, with Dutch No 1 Gian van Veen hosting Luke Humphries, home hero Michael van Gerwen facing Jonny Clayton, Luke Littler locking horns with Gerwyn Price, and Stephen Bunting taking on Josh Rock.