Luke Littler admitted that he was “not expecting” the crowd to be against him in his win over Rob Cross but does not regret his post-match comments to the Alexandra Palace audience.
The world No 1 is bidding to become the first back-to-back winner of the Sid Waddell Trophy since Gary Anderson a decade ago and saw off former world champion Rob Cross 4-2 to reach the last eight for a third consecutive year, where he will face Krzysztof Ratajski on New Year’s Day.
Littler produced a 106.58 average and delivered 17 maximums in an enthralling and feisty battle, with the defending champion appearing agitated at various points as ‘Voltage’ had the support of a strong section of a raucous crowd after fighting back from 3-1 down to almost push the match into a final-set decider.
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After clinching the win, Littler turned to the crowd and said: “Am I bothered? Really, am I bothered?! Really not bothered!
“Can I just say one thing? You guys pay for the tickets and you pay for my prize money so thank you, thank you for my money! Thank you for booing me. Thank you – come on!”
It is an outburst that sparked even more attention for ‘The Nuke’ but is one that he says he does not have regrets over, instead describing the reaction as an experience with the fans he has never had before on this stage.
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“It is a massive occasion for them to get into New Year’s Day, but I will be ready for anyone,” Littler said an hour after the contest.
“That was definitely a task that I wasn’t ready for. It is the World Championships – did they want the underdog to win, did they want the games to go on longer, who knows? I just got my job done.
“It was just pure emotion, I said what I said, the fans, I was going to say it last year at some point, but the fans, they paid for the tickets and pretty much they’re paying for our prize money, so yeah, I’m not regretting anything.
“I think nine times out of 10, I’m always going to be favourite and I didn’t expect that, I wasn’t expecting the fans wanting Rob to win but I can learn from it.”
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Does Littler feel he can turn things around with the crowd when the arrows get back under way in 2026? He is hoping so but all he can do is play his best darts and continue to show how much he has “grown up”.
“I don’t know, not really, just got to play my heart out and win,” he added.
“I think obviously there’s been quite a few times where I’ve let it out at the end and I think that’s sort of the best thing to do.
“I know I can throw a good dart or two but that just goes to show how much I have grew up myself. On the Ally Pally stage, I have never experienced anything like that here and we go again.
“Obviously it gives you massive confidence getting past a game like that, you know you can fail a dart or two, but getting past them games is the best.
“The fans are behind you, they’re not in front of you, and what’s in front of you is a dartboard and that’s what you’ve got to do.”
Durrant: The booing is part of the pantomime
Sky Sports Darts’ Glen Durrant…
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“First of all, I was surprised. The whole regeneration of darts the past couple of years has been linked to the success of Luke Littler.
“I’m old enough and wise enough to remember the days of Phil Taylor and the incredible numbers of Michael van Gerwen, but we’ve never seen darts in a better place, and the way that the crowd just sort of flipped…
“He’s 18 years old, and they’re the things that sometimes we forget because he comes across as this champion.
“I’m a big believer in lessons learned. Going back to a day job I had, my motto was, ‘we all make mistakes, don’t do it a second time.’
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“The booing and whistling has become part of the pantomime that’s darts. As a player the boing you can handle, the whistling you can struggle with.
“There’s been a regeneration of darts and a lot of it has been linked with Luke Littler. You have to remember he’s 18 years old. They are not media trained and then you are asked a question.”
What’s next?
The World Darts Championship returns on New Year’s Day for the quarter-finals, where Jonny Clayton opens against Ryan Searle – the only player not to drop a set this tournament – before Gary Anderson takes on Justin Hood.
Luke Humphries’ showdown against Gian van Veen rounds off the evening session after Littler continues his pursuit for back-to-back world titles when he plays Ratajski.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407). Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
