Luke Littler said the hostile reception he faced on Night 11 in Rotterdam was ‘exactly what I expected.’
The teenage star was booed onto the stage for all three of his matches, the fallout from his spat with Dutch No.1 Gian van Veen on Night Nine in Manchester still resonating with the home crowd. In Manchester, van Veen won a controversial quarter-final in which Littler reacted angrily after van Veen turned toward him while throwing match darts; van Veen later called Littler ‘out of order’ for celebrating toward the crowd.
Despite the noise, Littler made it to the final in Rotterdam, telling Sky Sports that the whistles and jeers were anticipated and that once he stepped on stage he could ‘do my job.’ Before his opening match against Gerwyn Price he had insisted there would be ‘no reaction’ to the taunts, but he did respond during the semi-final with Luke Humphries. After hitting tops to make it 2-2, Littler made a ‘calm down’ gesture toward a section of fans and added some flamboyant flourishes with his darts in the following leg.
Sky Sports commentator Wayne Mardle noted the change in Littler’s demeanour: ‘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.’
On the night Littler beat Gerwyn Price 6-3 and narrowly edged Luke Humphries 6-5 before falling 6-4 to Premier League leader Jonny Clayton in the final. Littler started the final strongly, taking the first two legs, but Clayton recovered to win — his fourth nightly victory of the 2026 campaign and his second consecutive win, extending his lead over Littler to five points at the top of the table.
Clayton paid tribute to Littler after the final, praising his talent and potential and saying he has ‘total respect’ for the young player, adding that the youngster has the level everyone must reach. Sky Sports’ Glen Durrant also commended Littler for how he coped with the hostile atmosphere, calling the environment ‘brutal’ and admitting he wasn’t sure he would have had the same mental strength.
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