'Real fear Littler could walk away' - darts would be loser in booing row — SkimNews
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- Luke Littler was booed and whistled at by sections of the crowd during the World Series of Darts in Amsterdam, including during his Friday win over Dutch home favourite Danny Noppert and his Saturday last-16 victory over Nathan Aspinall, where the referee stopped play to warn the crowd.
- Littler lost to Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals, ending his bid to become the first player to win all 10 major televised darts tournaments in a single calendar year.
- Littler told reporters he sees "no point in me travelling" and has already pulled out of several upcoming events, threatening to stop competing there altogether.
- Samuel Gill, editor of Dartnews.com, told BBC Sport there is a "real fear" Littler could "just turn around and walk away from the sport" within "four to five years" if the taunting continues, arguing fans should not "bite the hand that feeds you."
- Karl Holden, secretary of St Helens Darts Academy where Littler trained from age nine, defended the teenager's swagger, saying "Luke's got a bit of a character to him... you need that, otherwise darts would be totally boring."
- Gill drew a direct parallel to Michael van Gerwen, who faced similar booing during his years of dominance, and said that fans wanting a dominant champion to lose is "something different for the sport every single week."
- Littler, who turned professional just two years ago after reaching the PDC World Championship final at 16, is currently ranked world number one, has captured the World Championship, and has his own TV show and major sponsorship deals.
Why it matters: Littler is the sport's biggest box-office draw at age 19 — Gill notes tickets to events featuring him are routinely sold out and academy applications are at an all-time high — so a walkout would hit the PDC's commercial momentum at exactly the moment prize money and TV interest around him have peaked.
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