Luke Littler has admitted he lost his head during his fourth-round match at the PDC World Darts Championship, after being booed by the crowd at Alexandra Palace. The 18-year-old defending champion defeated Rob Cross 4-2 but reacted angrily to the hostile reception, gesturing to the audience and later telling them: 'You pay for my prize money, so thank you for my money, thank you for booing me.'
Littler, who has been a fan favourite since his emergence two years ago, acknowledged the incident was out of character. 'I think I lost my head,' he said. 'That's the first time I've been at the world championships and the crowd have not wanted me to win. I reacted like any other player would, but I might have reacted too early.'
Despite the emotional outburst, Littler produced a champion-like performance, averaging 106.5 and hitting 17 180s. 'It definitely fuelled me up and made me play better,' he added. 'There was that much adrenaline and anger. I am glad I won.'
Littler returns to the stage on Thursday to face Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski in the quarter-finals.
