Darts-WM in London
“You pay my prize money”: Littler takes on fans
Luke Littler dislikes the boos directed at him. The darts world champion takes the floor on stage and addresses the fans directly.
From crowd favorite to booed: Darts world champion Luke Littler reacted emotionally to unexpected boos from fans at the World Cup in London and addressed the audience directly. “It doesn’t bother me,” claimed Littler in an on-stage interview on Sky Sports and laughed: “You pay for tickets and you pay my prize money. Thank you for booing me.”
The 18-year-old Englishman had to endure his most difficult game to date in these title fights. In the 4-2 win against former world champion Rob Cross, Littler almost had to go into a decisive seventh set. Even during the encounter, the young Englishman repeatedly interacted with the audience. After the match dart was converted, Littler celebrated in a way that had rarely been seen before.
Littler: “Prepare for the worst”
“It was hostile, nobody wanted me to win. They were wrong,” said Littler, who is the clear tournament favorite and had won all his games without losing a set before the 4-2 win against Cross. After an initial brief outburst, Littler calmed down and appeared more moderate in subsequent TV interviews and at the press conference.
“It was the first time at the World Cup that the fans didn’t want to see me win. But it’s okay. I’ll prepare for the worst in the quarter-finals,” said Littler, referring to the upcoming game on New Year’s Day. He added to Sport1: “They whistled and booed. I just had to keep going and try to get over it.”
dpa
