Luke Littler in tears after Premier League win as he declares he ‘didn’t want to play anymore’

An emotional Luke Littler had to be consoled on stage by Luke Humphries after winning the Premier League.

The world No.1 broke down in tears as he spoke following his epic final victory at the O2 Arena.

Sky Sports

Littler beat Humphries 11-10 on Thursday night as he edged out his opponent in a thrilling last leg decider.

Their showdown came after both players had gone the distance in the semi-finals to beat Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton, respectively.

Finals night also followed 16 weeks of action during the league stage before Littler was crowned champion for a second time.

Emotional scenes

The teenager’s emotions took over as he spoke to Sky Sports’ Polly James after receiving the trophy.

He admitted: “It was a rollercoaster first four weeks, bottom of the table, but then the fifth night I won my first night. I had to pick myself up, some tough times.

“I think I had a 79 average in Brighton or something like that and it was tough. But I am here with the trophy.”

Littler has faced boos and heckles from the crowd throughout this year’s Premier League as well as at Alexandra Palace in December.

He added that the hostility towards him has even made him question taking part in the competition.

The world champion explained: “After Brighton and the incident in Manchester, I was sat at home saying to Faith [his partner] ‘I don’t want to do it anymore, just the crowd every week’.

“I said to her, ‘I’m down bad.'”

Littler had clashed with the audience during his semi-final win over Price earlier in the night.

Classy Humphries

As he fought back the tears, Humphries put his arm round his rival in a classy embrace between the pair.

With his emotions running high, Littler’s on-stage interview was cut short as Humphries instead spoke to James.

Cool Hand said: “It is emotional, you have seen it from Luke there. You are playing in big finals and it shows how much it means to us as players.

“You are on the road for 16 or 17 weeks and I don’t get the chance to take my family with me. You want that trophy in your hands.

“It was a great final, one of the best the Premier League has seen. I am proud that I made it a tough game.”

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Humphries was later asked in his post-match press conference why Littler had been so emotional.

He replied: “I don’t know, to be honest. I think, like I said on the mic, I just give him a cuddle, so just take a bit of time. I’m always there for him if he needs it.

“And I think maybe it is emotional sometimes because you’re on the road 16, 17 weeks and he’s had a lot of hard time.

“From Manchester, it’s probably like been a build-up of emotion from him. And maybe I think he had a little bit of support at the end there.

“And he’s kind of felt like, thank God, I think people have sort of seen past one mistake and let me rebuild. And people were cheering for him. I think that was just a nice moment for him.

“I love him to bits. He’s one of my great friends. And if I need to step in to take the line off him a little bit just to let him relax, I’ll do it.”

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‘Darts needs Luke Littler’

Later in his press conference, Humphries said: “What he [Littler] said there would have been emotional.

“We would never have put the darts down.. This is the reason why he is who he is because he’s such a great darts player.

“And it’s hard because I’ve had it before, you know, for no real reason. I just had the crowd on my back at the World Championships.

“Everyone just hated me for no reason. And it’s hard because you’re kind of at home and you don’t actually want to go and play darts because it kind of feels like everyone just hates you and don’t want to see you play.

“And I know what he’s going through, but we all do want to see him play. I think the fans do want to see him play because I think darts needs Luke Littler. Luke Littler doesn’t need darts. That’s the truth.

“And it’s nice to see that he’s bounced back from, you know, the fans. And he just needs to, you know, just give him a little bit more like he’s doing.

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“I think he’s doing some social media bits to show that he’s just a normal person. I think everyone thinks he’s a robot, but he’s not. He is a normal person, a good kid as well. And I think that’s why he’s trying to show everyone that.”

Wayne Mardle also sympathised with Littler after his comments following the final.

The Sky Sports pundit said: “Hearing him talk about maybe wanting to pull out and not come back.

“He’s had doubts and he’s come back…I’ve got nothing but admiration for him, and he’s a teenager!”

Mardle continued: “It’s a lonely place. I’ve seen people buckle, want to walk away, but he’s got a great team behind him.”

Despite not turning 20 until January next year, Littler is already a two-time Premier League champion.

His victory over Humphries secured a 13th PDC premier event victory, with his tally including two world titles.