Sky Sports presenter reveals new darts ‘experiment’ to help convince Luke Littler not to boycott

Mark Webster does not believe Luke Littler will walk away from professional darts despite the teenager being targeted by hostile crowds in two different countries.

Littler’s hopes of completing a historic clean sweep of the PDC’s TV majors for the calendar year came to an end when he suffered a heavy quarter-final defeat to Jonny Clayton at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam.

The world No.1 was repeatedly jeered by sections of the Dutch crowd during the tournament and has since suggested that he may avoid playing in the Netherlands unless his participation is absolutely necessary.

It is not the first time Littler has faced a hostile reception abroad. The 19-year-old was also booed by German fans last year, but he managed to put the experience behind him and went on to help England win the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt this year.

There has been speculation that the repeated abuse could eventually push Littler away from the sport, particularly given that he has already earned millions of pounds during his short professional career.

However, Sky Sports Darts presenter and former BDO world champion Mark Webster believes Littler is more likely to adjust his schedule rather than quit darts altogether.

Asked whether he expected Littler to walk away from the sport, Webster said:

“No, I don’t think he is going to.

“Look, he was obviously very upset with how he was treated in the Netherlands at the weekend.

“Some of the opponents he played, a home favourite in Danny Noppert. He was going to get some rough treatment there.

“The whistling, I know they’re trying to take it out of the game. The booing, they won’t be able to stop.

“But the whistling is something that’s a bugbear to a lot of the players at the minute.

“They are trying to get rid of it. I spoke to a few of the security guys, they’re experimenting with stuff in the crowd.

“Obviously, it got on top of Luke this weekend. Look if he chooses to miss events in the Netherlands that’s his prerogative.

“There’s a Premier League night, which I think he will play. But on the European Tour, there are fifteen events during the year.

“He doesn’t really need to go to the Netherlands. So, he can cherry-pick there. If he does decide to boycott, he can still plan out his year really.”

Webster’s comments suggest Littler could simply change how he approaches tournaments in the Netherlands rather than consider ending his career.

With plenty of events on the PDC calendar, Littler would still have opportunities to compete at the highest level while limiting the number of tournaments he plays in the country.