Luke Littler was jeered in Brighton as he suffered a quarter-final exit to Stephen Bunting in the Premier League Darts. The crowd’s reaction and his performance have prompted speculation about a potential link to his recent spat with Gian van Veen.
Littler’s Brighton Struggles
Littler was subjected to jeers upon entering the Brighton Centre for his match. He then endured ironic cheers following a poor start. He ultimately lost to Bunting, who turned 41.
Bunting could have had an easier victory, given the opportunities presented by his opponent. He only managed to hit six of his 21 darts at a double. Littler changed his darts during the match.
Littler showed little reaction to the defeat, shaking Bunting’s hand and leaving the stage meekly. He averaged just 83.94 and failed to hit a single maximum. It was the 19-year-old’s lowest average in a televised PDC match.
Fallout from Van Veen Spat?
Wayne Mardle suggested that Littler’s performance in Brighton may have been a consequence of his clash with Gian van Veen the previous week. Mardle noted that Littler looked flat and lacked his usual directness.
“I’m assuming tonight was a reaction to last week, although I don’t know. Littler looked quite flat, there were points where he was lobbing the darts, not petulantly but not with directness he normally throws,” said Mardle.
Mardle added: “It would be more of a coincidence if we said it had nothing to do with last week, it was a knock-on from that. I thought he was going to be okay but he wasn’t. He’s going to have to get back on the horse soon.”
Bunting’s Perspective
Bunting addressed the boos directed at Littler after his win, saying: “Thankfully, he is human! It’s tough because the crowd was giving him some stick. I like Luke because he’s a fantastic lad and I don’t like to see that.”
John Part said Littler “didn’t look interested” during his performance. Part added, “Stephen did what he had to do. It must have been off-putting watching Luke and how he played. He really was off, you can speculate whatever the reasons. For Stephen, he had to get on with it and he could have had an easier success.”
Littler will need to recover quickly from this setback.