Luke Littler remained unfazed by the hostile reception from the Rotterdam crowd during Night 11 of the Premier League Darts, stating it was 'exactly what I expected'. The audience booed Littler throughout his three matches, a reaction that began after his dispute with Dutch No 1 Gian van Veen from Night Nine in Manchester. Van Veen had won a contentious match in which Littler reacted angrily to his opponent's behavior while throwing match darts, with Van Veen claiming Littler was 'out of order' for 'celebrating towards the crowd'. Littler advanced to the final once again in Rotterdam before being defeated by 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 had stated there would be 'no reaction' from him to the crowd's taunts. However, he couldn't resist reacting during his semi-final clash with Luke Humphries.

When Littler took out tops to level the match at 2-2, he 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. When he has this swagger, he's hard to deal with.

He's giving it the full repertoire. I like it!' Littler defeated Price 6-3 and edged out Humphries 6-5 before ultimately losing to Clayton 6-4 in the final, despite claiming the opening two legs in impressive fashion. Clayton's fourth nightly win of the 2026 campaign, and second in succession, extended his lead over Littler to five points at the top of the table. Clayton praised Littler after the final, stating, '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 Dutch crowd's taunts throughout the night.

'It's brutal in here tonight,' Durrant said. 'I'm not sure I would have had the mental capacity to deal with it, but Littler is different.'