Luke Littler remained unfazed by the hostile crowd in Rotterdam during Night 11 of the Premier League Darts, saying the booing was 'exactly what I expected'. Littler faced a tough reception from the Rotterdam crowd throughout his three matches, including his run to the final, which was a continuation of the backlash he faced after his feud with Dutch No 1 Gian van Veen from Night Nine in Manchester. The controversy surrounding Littler and Van Veen began when Littler reacted angrily after Van Veen turned towards him while throwing match darts, with Van Veen claiming Littler was 'out of order' for 'celebrating towards the crowd'. Despite the crowd's animosity, Littler advanced to the final before 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.' Before his opening match against Gerwyn Price, Littler had vowed not to react to the crowd's taunts, but he couldn't resist responding to the crowd in 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 [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.' 'Littler came through 6-3 against Price and edged out Humphries 6-5 before ultimately losing 6-4 to Clayton 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 after also emerging victorious last week at Brighton, stretches 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 - and he's shown us all the level we need to be to beat him.' Sky Sports' Glen Durrant also commended Littler for his response to the hostile crowd, saying, '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.'