Luke Littler: World No 1 booed in Brighton – was his Premier League quarter-final exit a ‘knock-on’ from Gian van Veen spat? | Darts News

Luke Littler was booed in Brighton as he recorded his lowest PDC TV average in defeat to Stephen Bunting, and Wayne Mardle believes his Premier League quarter-final exit was a “knock-on” from his spat with Gian van Veen last week.

A week on from his much-publicised spat with Dutchman Van Veen in Manchester, the world champion suffered another last-eight loss after appearing rattled by a hostile crowd on night 10 of the competition.

Littler was subjected to jeers as he entered the Brighton Centre for the third match of the evening and then endured ironic cheers during a poor start from which he could not recover.

Bunting, who turned 41 on Thursday, could easily have enjoyed a far more comfortable success as he was gifted multiple opportunities on his opponent’s throw and hit just six of his 21 darts at a double.

Littler, who changed his darts throughout the contest, showed little reaction to the loss, shaking Bunting’s hand and exiting the stage meekly after averaging only 83.94 and failing to hit a single maximum.

It was the 19-year-old’s lowest average in a televised PDC match.

Former Premier League star Mardle felt pre-match favourite Littler was nowhere near his usual standard as he suffered another early exit.

“I’m assuming tonight was a reaction to last week, although I don’t know. Littler looked quite flat, there were points where he was lobbing the darts, not petulantly but not with directness he normally throws,” said ‘Hawaii 501’.

“It would be more of a coincidence if we said it had nothing to do with last week, it was a knock-on from that. I thought he was going to be okay but he wasn’t.

“He’s going to have to get back on the horse soon.”

Bunting spoke to Sky Sports after his win and addressed the boos directed towards Littler.

He said: “Thankfully, he is human! It’s tough because the crowd was giving him some stick. I like Luke because he’s a fantastic lad and I don’t like to see that.”

‘Littler didn’t look interested’

Three-time world champion John Part admitted Littler “didn’t look interested” during his subdued display, saying: “Stephen did what he had to do. It must have been off-putting watching Luke and how he played.

“He really was off, you can speculate whatever the reasons. For Stephen, he had to get on with it and he could have won the match 6-0. He really should have. The first two legs Luke won, he had no business winning.

“He didn’t look interested. I think Stephen would tell you he made harder work of it than he should have.

“But it is always hard work when you play the world No 1 and world champion.

“It is always going to be difficult. You can’t believe you are getting your chances and that they are playing badly. That is so rare.”

Jonny Clayton ultimately moved three points ahead of Littler in the table by producing a stunning comeback to beat seven-time champion Michael Van Gerwen in a gripping final.

After his win, the Welshman confirmed that Littler and Van Veen practiced in different rooms at the Brighton Centre.

“They’re always in separate practice rooms, myself, Mike [Van Gerwen] and Luke Humphries were in one and usually Gian comes into that,” said ‘The Ferret’, who recorded his third nightly win this year.

“I don’t think there’s anything of it, it’s just the way it happens. Gian was in with us and Luke [Littler] was in the other one. There’s nothing in that at all.

Clayton: Time for Littler to chase me again!

The 2021 Premier League champion struck a majestic 140 checkout to take a 1-0 lead in the final against Van Gerwen, but found himself trailing 3-1 and then 5-2 after a fantastic surge by Van Gerwen, who was averaging over 105 as he closed in on a second nightly win.

However, Clayton rallied in a remarkable comeback, surviving two match darts at 5-2 down and another pair of match darts at 5-4 down before levelling the contest with another 84 kill on the bullseye to make it 5-5.

The 51-year-old then saw out the last-leg decider with a composed 12-darter to complete the comeback and seal nightly victory on the south coast in style.

“I thought the game was over,” admitted Clayton. “He missed and gave me a chance. We’ve got to take chances. The last leg was probably my best of the game but they all count, I’m through, back on top of the table and it’s time for Luke Littler to start chasing me again.

“I know what it’s like to be here, I’ve got the experience, I know what it takes to get to Finals night. You’ve got to play darts, taken your chances, and if you play half-decent you’ve got a chance of playing on Night 17.

“I lost to Josh Rock last week, and the week before. Last week’s game was brilliant – Josh hit every double going. That puts you under pressure.

“I was just looking for two points coming into tonight, anything else was a bonus. So to end the night back in top spot, with another trophy for the cabinet is great.”

What’s happening on Premier League Night 11 in Berlin?

The BetMGM Premier League moves across the English Channel, as Rotterdam hosts another crucial night of action at the earlier start time of 6pm.

Dutch No 1 Gian van Veen will host Luke Humphries on his first Premier League night on home soil, as home hero Michael van Gerwen faces Jonny Clayton.

Luke Littler locks horns with Gerwyn Price in a crucial battle near the top of the table, while Stephen Bunting hopes to make further inroads towards the Play-Offs as he takes on Josh Rock.

Ranking points are awarded per night – with five to the winner, three to the runner-up and two to the semi-finalists – to form the league table from which the top four players will progress to Finals Night at The O2 in London on Thursday May 28.

Who will win this year’s Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries will be defending his title and you can watch the action every single Thursday until May on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.