Littler Shines in Rotterdam Despite Hostile Crowd

Luke Littler remained unfazed by the hostile Rotterdam crowd during Night 11 of the Premier League Darts, stating that their reaction was 'exactly what I expected'. The crowd booed Littler throughout his three matches, including his run to the final, which was a continuation of the backlash from his dispute with Dutch No 1 Gian van Veen from Night Nine in Manchester. Van Veen had won a contentious match where Littler reacted angrily after his opponent turned towards him while throwing match darts, with Van Veen claiming Littler was 'out of order' for 'celebrating towards the crowd'. Littler eventually lost to Premier League leader Jonny Clayton in the final. Despite initially saying he would not react to the crowd's taunts, Littler couldn't resist responding in his semi-final clash with Luke Humphries. When he levelled 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 noted that Littler 'has just reacted there - and they don't like it!' and praised Littler's 'swagger', saying 'he's hard to deal with' when he's in this mindset. Littler defeated Gerwyn Price 6-3 and edged out Humphries 6-5 before ultimately losing 6-4 to Clayton in the final. Clayton's win stretched his lead over Littler to five points at the top of the table, with Clayton praising Littler as 'absolutely amazing' and saying he has 'total respect' for him. Sky Sports' Glen Durrant also commended Littler for his response to the crowd's taunts, saying 'it's brutal in here tonight' and that Littler is 'different' in his ability to handle it.