PDC CHIEF ADDRESSES CROWD TENSION AROUND LITTLER

PDC chief Matt Porter believes Luke Littler may need to change his approach to alter crowd reaction.

The world No.1 has found himself under fire following his spat with Gian van Veen on Night Nine of the Premier League Darts in Manchester.  

The Nuke also hit back at jeering fans in Alexandra Palace after his 4-2 win over Rob Cross at the World Championship in December. 

He said at the time: “I’m not bothered. Really not bothered.

“Can I say one thing? You guys pay for tickets and you pay for my prize money. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Come on!”

Porter admits Littler might have to rein in his trademark, showman-like on-stage antics, even if it’s something he naturally thrives on.

He said: “Luke has always enjoyed interacting with the crowd and I don’t think he minds it too much to a level. 

“Obviously if you’re going to wind the crowd up a little bit, as he has done in the past, then you have to expect them to react to that. 

“And often when Luke’s done that, he’s had a smile on his face and it’s been something he’s thrived on. 

“It’s difficult because darts crowds can tend to follow patterns.  

“They copy what they see the week before. So once you get on a little bit of a run of having a certain reaction from the crowd, you need to do something to reverse that.

“If Luke’s that bothered about it – I don’t think he necessarily is hugely – then he’ll look to change it. 

“But if he can shrug it off and treat it like water off a duck’s back, then he’ll be alright with it. You know, we saw it with Gerwyn Price a few years ago.  

“He’s completely changed around the perception that he has from the crowds now and there’s been others too.

“I think really it’s going to be up to Luke, whether he feels it’s something he finds quite funny and whether he can deal with it or if it’s something that he wants to change, then you might see a different approach.” 

Littler is already a back-to-back world champion and, at just 19, needs only the European Championship to complete the full set of ranked major titles. 

Porter reckons Littler’s dominance in a rapidly growing sport means the spotlight, both good and bad, simply comes with the territory. 

He added: “I think it probably does. 

“I mean you see it in every sport, don’t you? Where people are there to be shot at and Luke’s obviously got a target on his back, not only from the other players, but from people who watch the sport. 

“That’s not something that’s unique to darts in any way, shape or form. 

“These things always go in waves, don’t they? Like I say, it’ll be one thing today and then something else will come along and take that over in the future.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.