Luke Littler tipped to turn down new career and overcome darts boo boys

Darts legend Keith Deller has backed Luke Littler to bounce back from hostile crowds after his latest Premier League Darts defeat.

‘The Nuke’ was booed by the Brighton crowd as he recorded his lowest PDC TV average in a 6-4 defeat to Stephen Bunting on Night 10 of the competition.

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Littler’s tough reception came a week on from his heated meeting with Gian van Veen on Night 9 in Manchester.

The world No.1 had been visibly frustrated on stage by his Dutch opponent’s pace of play.

Littler could be seen throwing his hands in the air, which was spotted by Van Veen, who later criticised the world champion’s behaviour in his post-match interview.

Their spat spilled over afterwards, as Littler then took to social media to fire back at his opponent, and boast his superior trophy haul.

The Brighton crowd clearly hadn’t forgotten this, with the 19-year-old being booed heavily as he walked out for his clash with Bunting.

Once he got onto the stage, Littler cupped his ear to the crowd, who then continued to jeer him throughout the contest.

The hostile atmosphere appeared to get the better of the teenage sensation, who fell to Bunting after producing an average of just 83.94 – his lowest average in a televised PDC match.

Littler needs to ‘laugh it off’

Littler’s difficult experience in Brighton wasn’t the first time he has been subject to boos, with the darts star famously reluctant to partake in German competitions due to the crowd’s treatment.

But 1983 darts world champion Keith Deller believes this is part and parcel of the game, and backed Littler to find a way to overcome it.

He told talkSPORT’s Hawksbee and Jacobs: “I don’t think it was too bad.

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“At the end of the day, we had it back in our day. Eric [Bristow] got booed in Scotland because he used to upset Jocky Wilson a few times. That’s just the way it is.

“But Eric loved it and that’s what you’ve got to do. Peter Manley, he was one of them again. He used to get booed sometimes and just laugh. 

“I think you’ve just got to laugh it off really because if you start getting to it and the crowd knows that you don’t like it, then you’re in trouble. Because they know they’re going to do it.

“But if you just turn around [and ignore it]. I’m not sure about what’s the problem in all this.” 

‘Jealousy’

Discussing the reason behind Littler’s tough crowd treatment, Deller argued that this is likely down to jealousy over his huge popularity and success.

However, the former darts player pointed out that the youngster is responsible for inspiring a huge growth in the sport’s popularity.

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Deller said: “I think there’s always a little bit of jealousy. I mean Luke’s now a multi-millionaire. 

“They might think: ‘Oh, look at him now’. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to remember, Luke Littler’s done so much for our sport.

“How many youngsters are taking the game up? The viewing figures now are going through the roof. Companies are becoming involved. Arenas are sold out because of Luke Littler.

“In Germany, there’s a lot of whistling going on – he doesn’t like it. He’s not bothered about going to Germany very often.

“I think the fans are the ones who will lose out. You don’t want to see whistling and booing all the time. Let the pros show how good they are. 

“But at the end of the day, people pay their money and if they might be having a little bet on the match. So you’ve just got to get on with it.

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“I just think at the end of the day, Luke Littler knows that: ‘OK, if you’re going to keep booing me, who cares? I’m still going to win major titles’.”

Game off

Littler has previously hinted he could retire from darts at a young age, having claimed he wants to win every darts major before retiring from the sport – which he is already only one away from doing.

Darts legend Steve Beaton recently tipped Littler to carve out a career in gaming in the next few years, with the World No.1 an avid gamer and regularly streaming himself playing online.

However, Deller believes the darts superstar will not be stepping away from the sport, as he insisted he could earn a fortune by continuing.

Asked if he could see Littler quitting anytime soon, he replied: “No, he’s going to earn too much money in the game. It’s going to keep going up and up. 

“And he might do that just because he doesn’t practice much, does he? I mean, he’s got enough time to play the game inside of it with his mate, Angry Ginge.

“But no, I think maybe a true reflection in a way is how long will he carry on? Because he could be worth, I don’t know, £15million in five years or £20m in five years. 

“Will the incentive still be there? Will the hunger still be there? I don’t know. I just hope.”