Luke Littler was met with heavy boos for the third straight Premier League night – this time in Liverpool.
The world No.1, still only 19, has already claimed back-to-back world titles and taken the sporting world by storm.
Yet despite his rapid rise and growing fanbase, he continues to play the role of pantomime villain on Merseyside.
Born in Warrington, Littler is a proud Manchester United supporter – fierce rivals of Liverpool FC – and he’s never shied away from poking fun at the Reds when the moment presents itself.
So it came as no surprise that the Liverpool crowd were ready to return the favour with a few digs of their own at the teenage star.
Littler took on Luke Humphries in the fourth quarter-final clash at the M&S Bank Arena.
And from the very start, he was met with a hostile reception.
As the MC began announcing him for his walk-on, sections of the crowd responded with loud jeers.
The noise was partly drowned out by his entrance music, and Littler showed no reaction—keeping his focus locked in as he approached the oche.
The booing didn’t stop there. As he stepped up for his opening visit, more jeers rang out, followed by cheers when his first two darts at treble 20 missed their mark.
One commentator remarked: “I don’t think they’re saying ‘Luke’—that’s a pretty frosty reception.”
But Littler refused to let the atmosphere affect him. He broke Humphries’ throw in the opening leg and followed it up with a clinical checkout in the “madhouse” to take a 2-0 lead, all while the crowd continued their taunts.
After three legs, Humphries had failed with all six of his attempts at double, leaving Littler firmly in control and edging closer to the semi-finals.
“Cool Hand” eventually got a leg on the board, but by then he was already trailing 4-0. Littler responded by taking out tops to make it 5-1, moving within touching distance of victory.
His dominant display began to quieten the crowd, and by the time he missed three match darts at 5-2, the earlier boos had largely faded.
Humphries couldn’t capitalise, and Littler returned to seal the win on double four, booking his place in the semi-finals against Michael van Gerwen.
Once again, Littler showed resilience under pressure. He fought back from 3-1 and 5-4 down to defeat Van Gerwen, landing six of his seven attempts at doubles in a composed finish.
Van Gerwen, however, was in superb form himself, averaging 107.5 and firing in an incredible nine 180s.
The crowd reaction in Liverpool followed similar scenes from the previous week in Rotterdam, where Littler was also targeted by boos after his clash with Gian van Veen during Night 9 in Manchester.
During that encounter, Littler appeared to mock Van Veen—whom he had beaten in January’s Ally Pally final—after the Dutchman missed a match dart, sparking a tense exchange between the two.
Littler then missed chances of his own before Van Veen snatched a dramatic 6-5 victory. The world champion reacted angrily, pretending to cry and gesturing toward the crowd, which only further inflamed the situation.
Shortly after, Littler posted on Instagram with a screenshot of his darts titles and the caption: “goodnight godbless thankyou manchester.”
He later brushed off criticism from Van Veen, who had labelled his behaviour “out of order.”
Van Veen said: “I saw Luke celebrating when I missed, and that didn’t feel right.
“You’re there to win, of course, but not to cheer when your opponent misses.
“Then he made crying gestures toward me, which isn’t something you should do.
“He’s a fantastic player, but I felt his behaviour crossed the line that night.
“I don’t know what I did wrong.”
Littler also faced backlash in Brighton the following week, before encountering a particularly hostile atmosphere in the Netherlands, where Van Veen’s home supporters made their feelings clear in response to the incident.
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