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'. Littler faced booing from the crowd in each of his three matches, a trend that started after his altercation with Dutch No 1 Gian van Veen in Manchester. Despite the controversy, Littler advanced to the final before losing to Premier League leader Jonny Clayton.
'It was exactly what I expected, the boos and whistles,' Littler said. 'But I knew as soon as I got on stage I could do my job.' Ahead of his match against Gerwyn Price, Littler vowed not to react to the crowd's taunts but eventually gave in during his semi-final clash with Luke Humphries.
When he leveled the match at 2-2, Littler gestured to the crowd, adding flamboyant flourishes with his darts in the next leg. Commentator Wayne Mardle noted, 'Littler said he will not react, but he has just reacted - and they don't like it!' Littler won against Price and Humphries before losing to Clayton in the final.
Clayton's win stretched his lead over Littler to five points at the top of the table. After the final, Clayton praised 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.' 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.'