Lewis says Littler was treated “unfairly” by Dutch fans

ADRIAN LEWIS says the treatment of Luke Littler by Dutch fans was “unfair” and simply “not called for” during the World Series Finals.

The two-time world champion has defended Littler after the teenager was repeatedly booed and whistled in Amsterdam.

Littler’s, 19, hope of completing clean sweep of all the major PDC titles in 2026 eventually came to an end in the Dutch capital.

But the teen sensation had already been left frustrated by the reception from sections of the crowd and even threatened to boycott future tournaments in the Netherlands.

Lewis believes the extra pressure placed on Littler makes the treatment even harder to deal with.

He said: “It's very difficult. Obviously you're under a lot of pressure and certainly when he's going for everything, you put a lot more pressure on yourself as well.

“When you've got that going on I don't think it's nice, I don't think it's called for.

“At the end of the day, he's a young lad. He's one of the best players I've ever seen and I think it's unfair on him.”

The Nuke was eventually knocked out by Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals, losing 10-4 at the AFAS Live.

Lewis reckons Littler’s best response to the crowd is to simply refuse to give them a reaction.

He added: “It's difficult. What you're best off doing really is try not react to them.

“If you just turn up there and just throw - engaging with the crowd because you've got to engage with them anyway because that's part of the job - but if they start booing and all that and whistling, just take no notice of them.”

Lewis knows exactly what it is like to perform under the spotlight, having lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy twice during his stellar career.

The Stoke-on-Trent thrower also triumphed at the European Championship and UK Open in his heyday.

Words: Aaron Nijjar

Image: Taylor Lanning