Michael Smith showed just how to deal with whistles in the crowd after beating Luke Littler last year in the Premier League.
Crowd behaviour has become a hot topic in recent weeks, with players and pundits left enraged by constant whistling.
Last Thursday, even Littler was critical of the Glasgow fans who jeered Rob Cross during their thrilling encounter.
Premier League crowds have made a habit of supporting the ever-popular Littler, with some going to the extreme length of trying to distract his opponents.
But ex-world champion Smith had the perfect response at the Premier League in 2024.
On commentary for Sky Sports, darts legend Wayne Mardle had begun calling the culprits ‘imbecilic’ as the competitors were visibly frustrated.
But Smith held his nerve to beat Littler 6-5 in a thrilling showdown.
After landing the winning dart, ‘Bully Boy’ turned to the crowd, whistling and shouted ‘shut up’, before gesturing a sliced throat to indicate he had successfully silenced them.
Speaking on the tournament and crowd disturbances, Smith said: “With the crowd, the easiest match was against Van Gerwen. That was okay.
“With Luke there were a couple of whistles. It happened against Gezzy. I don’t blame them as they want to cheer on their home guy. That is what they are here for. You expect it.”
Since that night in February 2024, Littler has cemented himself as one of the sport’s best, winning the most recent World Championship.
Smith, on the other hand, has suffered a dramatic fall from grace due to a combination of poor form and injuries.
But crowd disruption at the Premier League has remained constant, with the PDC recently issuing a strongly-worded statement to warn fans they could be ejected from future events.
Before night three of the Premier League on Thursday, Littler appeared on talkSPORT to discuss crowd behaviour, admitting it is more of a problem for his rivals.
“The crowd don’t usually boo against me, but they do against my opponents,” the 18-year-old said.
“That’s what they did against Rob Cross when he had two darts at double 18 to win the match.
“You can’t really stop it. The referee told them to stop and he made it even worse.”
Littler added: “Most venues, we know what’s coming. Like with the Dutch crowd and whoever plays Michael van Gerwen. Or when someone plays Gerwen Price in Wales.
“We’ll all get it at some point.”
