LITTLER WILL WEATHER THE STORM

By Phil Lanning

LUKE LITTLER woke up this morning knowing what his Manchester United heroes David Beckham and Wayne Rooney went through on a daily basis.

Just 24 hours after his perfect Manchester Premier League preview interview at Old Trafford, The Nuke went from the Theatre of Dreams to screams.

Littler will have flicked through his social media and seen the avalanche of hate thrown towards him, the word “arrogant” being the most prominent thrown around.

The incident with Gian van Veen was much ado about nothing. Littler celebrated in front of his home crowd as the Dutchman missed his chance to win their quarter-final on double 15.

Van Veen, normally the most placid guy on the tour, turned round to give Littler a death stare in disgust of his actions.

This infuriated the world champion who flung his arms up in the air, further whipped up the crowd frenzy and did a cry baby gesture aimed at the Dutchman.

Van Veen, to his enormous credit, kept his cool to hit double six and win the tie. The pair then exchanged a frosty handshake in which Littler blanked any eye contact with his opponent and stormed off stage.

Top pundit Wayne Mardle said Littler “shouldn’t” have  celebrated the miss. Van Veen was annoyed by The Nuke’s actions, initially behind his back.

He said: “From my perspective I missed the double 15 and I looked around.

“I was fuming with myself that I hit it on the inside. I looked around. He was celebrating me missing and I was like that is out of order.”

It feels rather odd that from week-to-week Littler gets adulation from all quarters for being the greatest showman, smashing in 170s and nine-darters. Everyone drools over the razzmatazz and outrageousness he brings to the sport.

But then in a nano second he’s turned on for geeing up the crowd or celebrating his rival’s miss which, let’s be fair, lit up the occasion. You can’t have it both ways.

The Premier League is a roadshow which needs the pantomime moments to keep it relevant as a spectacle. There’s been far more dramatic gamesmanship shown by Phil Taylor in a World Matchplay final against Michael van Gerwen when he actually got the crowd going while the Dutchman was throwing a decade ago.

Peter Wright was once called a “clown” by Van Gerwen after turning round to the crowd before going for a double in a Premier League match.

After a fairly long honeymoon period in the sport, Littler is truly feeling the effects of Tall Poppy Syndrome.

This is when “individuals with high achievements, visibility, or success are criticised, resented, or ‘cut down’ to bring them back to a perceived level of equality”.

Rooney, Beckham and Paul Gascoigne could all give Littler chapter and verse advice on that matter.

It feels like the entire sport and its new generation of followers is just waiting for The Nuke to explode and then crumble.

Going from glory boy-next-door to public enemy No.1 is a difficult transition in 28 months.

He’s hardly put a foot wrong since emerging on the world scene at the end of 2023, a quite remarkable feat for someone from 16 to 19-years-old.

But the pressure cooker is only going to get hotter.

Littler now faces Premier League nights in Rotterdam and Liverpool before the end of this month when the crowds will be desperate for his demise.

He will have to ride the rollercoaster of public opinion. He will have to manage that very carefully so it doesn’t get out of control. Darts crowds can be brutal when they get on your back; Gerwyn Price, Mervyn King and Paul Nicholson have suffered that big time in the past. Who can forget Price wearing headphones to avoid the crowd abuse during the Worlds a few years ago?

Littler responded brilliantly to his outburst at booing fans at the Ally Pally in early January. He needs to do that again in Brighton next week.

The rivalry between Littler and Van Veen has been hyped up since before the World Championship final.

It’s not likely to be the next Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld or Gary Anderson v Michael van Gerwen heavyweight contest of the oche.

Van Veen is no villain. He’s far too polite and squeaky clean and the pair will no doubt kiss and make up after their spat in Manchester.

But Littler has more challenging hurdles to navigate. So far in his short and highly-successful career, he’s effortlessly taken everything in his stride.

The kid is undoubtedly a genius and he’ll ride out the storm. So get your money on a Nuke perfect leg in Brighton next week!

Image by Taylor Lanning.