Luke Littler remained unfazed by the negative reaction from the Rotterdam crowd during Night 11 of the Premier League Darts, stating it was 'exactly what I expected'. The audience booed Littler for each of his three matches, a trend that began after his dispute with Dutch No 1 Gian van Veen from Night Nine in Manchester.
Van Veen won a contentious match in which Littler reacted angrily to his opponent's behavior when throwing match darts. Littler advanced to the final again in Rotterdam but ultimately lost 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 opening match against Gerwyn Price, Littler claimed there would be 'no reaction' from him to the crowd's taunts. However, he couldn't resist reacting in his semi-final clash with Luke Humphries.
When leveling 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, but he has just reacted - and they don't like it! I think he's had enough of not reacting. He is strutting and really giving it now.' Littler won against Price and Humphries before losing to Clayton in the final.
Clayton's victory stretched his lead over Littler to five points at the top of the table. Clayton praised Littler, saying, 'I've got total respect for Luke. He's absolutely amazing.' Sky Sports' Glen Durrant also commended Littler for his response to the Dutch 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.'