Littler's Early Exit in Brighton: A Fallout from Van Veen Spat?

Luke Littler faced a hostile crowd in Brighton, resulting in his lowest televised PDC average, and former Premier League star Wayne Mardle believes this could be a 'knock-on' effect from his spat with Gian van Veen the previous week. Littler's 83.94 average was his worst in a televised PDC match, and he failed to hit a single maximum as he suffered a quarter-final exit at the hands of Stephen Bunting. Mardle felt that Littler, the pre-match favorite, was not at his usual standard, and his performance may have been affected by the incident with Van Veen. Bunting, who turned 41 on Thursday, secured a win despite struggling with his doubles, hitting just six of his 21 attempts. Littler showed little reaction to the loss and exited the stage meekly. The incident has sparked discussion about whether Littler's performance was indeed impacted by the previous week's events, with Mardle suggesting it would be a coincidence if it had no effect. Meanwhile, Jonny Clayton produced a stunning comeback to beat Michael Van Gerwen, moving three points ahead of Littler in the table.