Darts world champion
Luke Littler becomes a “villain” – what do German fans have to do with it?
Luke Littler was considered the likeable prodigy of darts – down-to-earth, authentic, talented. But at the World Cup, the image of the 18-year-old defending champion is starting to crack.
It regularly gets loud in Ally Pally, the center of darts. The noise level at world champion Luke Littler’s games still has something special: the defending champion regularly has to listen to whistles and boos when he takes up arrows at the Darts World Cup.
For a long time, the 18-year-old was considered a popular figure in the emerging sport. A chubby, slightly chubby Brit, down-to-earth and authentic. Plus a sporting prodigy who last year, at 17, became the youngest darts player in history to win the world championship title. But this image is now starting to crack.
Darts World Cup: Luke Littler thanks for boos
The dispute between Littler and the audience began in the round of 16: That’s when the 18-year-old met Former world champion Rob Cross – and was met with loud expressions of displeasure from many of the 3,000 spectators. Littler himself repeatedly clashed with the audience during the match, eventually winning the game and then adding fuel to the fire.
In an interview with the British broadcaster Sky Sports, he addressed the fans directly from the stage: “You pay for tickets and you pay my prize money. Thank you for booing me.” The whistles and boos didn’t bother him, he claimed. A provocation towards the audience that didn’t fit his otherwise reserved character.
Littler’s performance in the quarterfinals was also praised by some Booing accompanied. This time the world champion responded with a sporting statement; his 5-0 win against Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski was a demonstration of power. He is still considered the big favorite for the title.
The popular teenager becomes a provocateur
Littler continues to stand by his words: “I said what I said. I was going to say it at some point last year but the fans paid for the tickets and they pretty much pay our prize money too. So yeah, I don’t regret anything,” he told Sky Sports before the quarter-final. Around the match he was forgiving again, signed autographs and pointedly ignored the boos.
Nevertheless: The statements made to the fans can no longer be taken back, Littler’s image is likely to change permanently as a result. The British newspaper “Guardian” writes that the teenager has become a man and even attests that Littler has turned into a “villain”. The German darts professional accused him of a “small fit of arrogance” at DAZN: “You can’t complain to the people who pay your money. He must not forget where he comes from.”
British media speculate that it could have been German fans who infuriated Littler at Alexandra Palace. The world champion was booed at performances in Berlin and Frankfurt last year. Even then, Littler was dissatisfied with the audience’s behavior. “Apparently the Germans don’t like us English,” he said. Since then, the world number one has rarely played in Germany.
He couldn’t pinpoint exactly where the boos came from at the World Cup: “I don’t know who it was. People in the stands, a few tables at the front. I just had to deal with it.”
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