Luke Littler was booed by the Brighton crowd as he suffered a 6-4 quarter-final defeat to Stephen Bunting on night 10 of the Premier League, producing his lowest televised PDC average of 83.94 and failing to hit a single 180. The 19-year-old changed his darts during the match, showed little reaction afterwards — shaking Bunting’s hand and leaving the stage quietly — and looked visibly off his normal game.
Bunting, who turned 41 on the day, seized several openings on Littler’s throw and, despite some struggles on doubles, closed out the win. He hit three 180s and a 102 checkout as he capitalised on multiple chances to secure victory.
Former Premier League player Wayne Mardle suggested Littler’s poor display may have been a hangover from last week’s confrontation with Gian van Veen in Manchester. “Littler looked quite flat,” Mardle said. “There were points where he was lobbing the darts, not with the directness he normally throws. 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.”
Bunting addressed the crowd’s reaction toward Littler after the match: “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.”
Three-time world champion John Part added that Littler “didn’t look interested” and said Stephen “did what he had to do,” noting Littler’s display was unusually subdued and that Bunting might even have won by a wider margin.
Match stats (Littler v Bunting)
– Legs: Littler 4, Bunting 6
– Average: Littler 83.94, Bunting 91.3
– 180s: Littler 0, Bunting 3
– Highest checkout: Littler 44, Bunting 102
On the night’s final, Jonny Clayton produced a dramatic comeback to beat Michael van Gerwen and move three points clear of Littler in the table. Clayton recovered from 5-2 down, survived match darts, levelled at 5-5 with an 84 bull finish and sealed the decider with a composed 12-darter to reclaim top spot. After the win he joked it was “time for Luke Littler to start chasing me again.”
Clayton also confirmed that Littler and Gian van Veen practised in different rooms at the Brighton Centre, saying players often split across practice areas and there was nothing more to read into it.
Factbox
– Stephen Bunting had 23 darts at double against Luke Littler — the most in a single game this Premier League season.
– Most darts at double this season: 23 Stephen Bunting (Night 10), 22 Luke Humphries (Night 2), 22 Luke Littler (Night 6), 21 Stephen Bunting (Night 6).
What’s next: Premier League Night 11 — Rotterdam Ahoy (Thursday April 16)
Matches (quarter-finals):
– Luke Littler vs Gerwyn Price
– Gian van Veen vs Luke Humphries
– Michael van Gerwen vs Jonny Clayton
– Stephen Bunting vs Josh Rock
Ranking points are awarded per night (5 for the winner, 3 for the runner-up, 2 for semi-finalists) to form the league table. The top four after the league phase will progress to Finals Night at The O2 in London on Thursday May 28, where Luke Humphries will defend his title.