Luke Littler remained unfazed by the negative reception from the Rotterdam crowd during Night 11 of the Premier League Darts, stating it was 'exactly what I expected'. The crowd's hostile behavior towards Littler was a continuation of the tension that began after his altercation with Dutch No 1 Gian van Veen in Manchester on Night Nine. Van Veen had won a contentious match, prompting Littler to react angrily when his opponent turned towards him while throwing match darts.

Van Veen later described Littler's behavior as 'out of order' for 'celebrating towards the crowd'. Despite the crowd's animosity, Littler advanced to the final before ultimately losing to Premier League leader Jonny Clayton. 'It was exactly what I expected, the boos and whistles,' Littler told Sky Sports. 'But I knew as soon as I got on stage I could do my job.' Prior to his first match against Gerwyn Price, Littler had vowed not to react to the crowd's taunts.

However, during his semi-final clash with Luke Humphries, he couldn't resist responding to the crowd. When he leveled the match at 2-2, Littler gave a 'calm down' gesture to a section of fans and added some flamboyant flourishes with his darts in the next leg. Sky Sports' Wayne Mardle commented, 'Littler said he will not react [to the crowd], but he has just reacted there - and they don't like it! I think he's had enough of not reacting.

He is strutting and really giving it now. When he has this swagger, he's hard to deal with. He's giving it the full repertoire.

I like it!' Littler emerged victorious against Price with a 6-3 score and edged out Humphries 6-5, but ultimately lost to Clayton 6-4 in the final. Clayton's win marked his fourth nightly victory in the 2026 campaign and stretched his lead over Littler to five points at the top of the table.

Following the final, Clayton expressed his admiration for Littler, saying, 'I've got total respect for Luke. He's absolutely amazing. This guy has got years ahead of him, an amazing darts player - and he's shown us all the level we need to be to beat him.

But this old dog has got some life in him yet.' Sky Sports' Glen Durrant also commended Littler for his response to the crowd's taunts, stating, 'It's brutal in here tonight. I'm not sure I would have had the mental capacity to deal with it, but Littler is different.'