Luke Littler labelled the crowd’s behaviour ‘pretty bad’ as darts fans blasted the horrendous treatment of Rob Cross in Glasgow.
Littler came back from 5-1 down to beat former world champion Cross 6-5 in their quarter-final match on night two of the Premier League at the OVO Arena.
The 18-year-old pinned five 180’s and produced a sensational average of 104.59 to Cross’ 99.96.
However, Littler’s comeback was not the story of the match as it was marred by controversial behaviour from fans.
When Cross had match darts on two separate occasions, he was surprisingly showered with boos in Glasgow.
Cross wasn’t the only opponent of Littler to cop the brutal treatment, as 2024 world champion Luke Humphries had to contend with loud whistling from the crowd in the final.
Darts fans on social media were quick to express their disdain for the way the Glasgow crowd carried on, especially towards Cross.
One wrote on X: “It’s pathetic. He’s an unbelievable player and a genuinely nice person, why boo him? Not proper darts fans.”
Another said: “How can anyone boo Rob Cross? He’s one of the most likeable players in the world.”
One posted: “On what planet is booing Rob Cross a thing to do? The bloke is an absolute diamond.”
Speaking after the final, where he beat Humphries 6-5, Littler spoke about the impact of the whistling from the crowd.
“There were a few in particular that were doing it when Luke [Humphries] was throwing,” Littler said.
“Kirk [Bevins, the referee] told them to be quiet and it made it even worse.
“I missed doubles, Luke breaks at 5-4. I’m just like ‘Kirk you’ve made it even worse for me, I’m 5-4 down.’
“But I broke back and held my throw again.”
Littler was then pressed on how he thought the referees should handle the crowd.
“If it’s the same as it was when Kirk said it, then yeah, leave it,” Littler said.
“Obviously they’ve got to step in and say something, but yeah, it was pretty bad. But I got the win.”
Perhaps more of the Premier League stars will adopt Gerwyn Price’s approach when dealing with the whistles.
In his semi-final clash against Humphries, Price was whistled at after he landed a maximum in the fourth leg.
Instead of ignoring it, Price turned around and whistled right back at the unruly fans.
It prompted a chuckle from Humphries and the Welshman, as Price also mouthed ‘f*** off’ in response to the hecklers.
Humphries ultimately prevailed 6-4 over Price but fell short in the final against Littler.
All eyes now turn to the 3Arena in Dublin for night three of the Premier League on February 20.
