Luke Littler has sparked a darts boom in recent months, but faced some darts boos as he traveled to Liverpool for Matchday 13 of the Premier League.
The Manchester United fan expected a rowdy performance from the crowd and overcame the hostile atmosphere to secure his third evening win of the season and move five points clear at the top of the table.
Littler loved interacting with the crowd and even signaled “2-0” as he took the stage for his quarter-final, referring to Everton’s victory over Liverpool in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday.
The 17-year-old also celebrated in front of the crowd after hitting double top to take his semi-final against Nathan Aspinall to the deciding leg before winning that game 6-5 after coming from 5-2 down.
Littler averaged 105 when he beat Rob Cross 6-2 in the final and it now seems all but certain that he will be in his first Premier League season on Thursday May 23rd will reach the play-offs in London.
Littler’s Wild Night in Liverpool: The Best Parts!
Littler joined in Sky Sports before Night 13 began he said Liverpool fans couldn’t handle the banter…
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Littler said he expected the worst from the Liverpool crowd before the 13th night
Then he angered the red half of Liverpool but delighted the blue…
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Littler referred to Everton’s 2-0 win over Liverpool in the Merseyside derby
The teenager was jeered by the crowd in his quarter-final against Gerwyn Price…
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Liverpool fans cheered Littler’s opening arrow
Treat yourself to some of this! Littler gave it back to the fans after leveling his semi-final against Aspinall…
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Littler celebrated wildly after taking his semi-final with Nathan Aspinall to the deciding leg
Littler beat Aspinall 6-5 to reach the Liverpool final…
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Little pointed to Aspinall’s missed double before securing victory and reaching the final
Is there anything Littler can’t do? Well, open a water bottle, it looks like!
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Littler was struggling to open his water bottle before the final, so he had to get one of the markers to do it for him!
I used to think Littler was an introvert!
Speaking of the mass fairy tale of the youth in Liverpool: Sky Sports’ Wayne Mardle said: “He was different. He showed more personality, more adrenaline.”
“Maybe he got upset by the boos? I don’t know it. Until now I would have called him an introvert, but there was nothing introverted about it.” [about what he did in Liverpool].
“At 17 years old, he’s just as good as Eric Bristow and Michael van Gerwen because he’s that good.”
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Wayne Mardle enjoyed Littler’s escapades in Liverpool
“To show that confidence for someone who is so new to this – not new to darts or new to winning, but he is new to this. He has fit in and will be here for many years to come.”
Littler told Sky Sports: “I knew what to expect this week, I prepared for it. I always interact with the audience and in the semi-final I played completely freely. I felt comfortable.”
Sky Sports Commentator Stuart Pyke said of Littler on the Love the Darts podcast: “He looks so at home that nothing fazes him. He’s just a box office hit.”
“On a Thursday evening, Sky Sports viewership numbers go through the roof. Everyone wants to see Littler, we all want to see Littler. He’s a 17-year-old superstar.”
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Littler was happy to gain some breathing room in the race for the Premier League play-offs
Littler: Maybe I can top the table
As he moved five points clear of second-placed Luke Humphries in the overall standings, Littler added: “I’m happy to be able to pull away from the other people.”
“Now I can move on [winning the league phase]. There’s only three weeks left, so maybe I’ll manage to top the table.
Watch Premier League Darts Night 14 from Aberdeen live on Sky Sports Action from 7pm on Thursday May 2nd or stream with NOW.
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