Luke Littler remained unfazed by the hostile crowd in Rotterdam during Night 11 of the Premier League Darts, stating that the boos and whistles were 'exactly what I expected'. The crowd's negative reaction stemmed from Littler's previous spat with Dutch No 1 Gian van Veen from Night Nine in Manchester.

Van Veen had won a controversial match, which saw Littler react angrily after his opponent turned towards him while throwing match darts. Van Veen claimed that Littler was 'out of order' for 'celebrating towards the crowd'.

Despite the crowd's animosity, Littler reached the final again in Rotterdam before losing to Premier League leader Jonny Clayton. In a post-match interview with Sky Sports, Littler said, 'It was exactly what I expected, the boos and whistles. 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 that he would not react to the crowd's taunts.

However, during his semi-final clash with Luke Humphries, he couldn't resist responding to the crowd's provocations. When taking out tops to level 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 on Littler's reaction, saying, '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. When he has this swagger, he's hard to deal with. He's giving it the full repertoire. I like it!' Littler emerged victorious against Price and Humphries, winning 6-3 and 6-5 respectively, before ultimately losing 6-4 to Clayton in the final.

Clayton's win marked his fourth nightly victory of the 2026 campaign and 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 - 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 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.'