Reigning world darts champion Luke Littler has found himself at the centre of a storm after a fiery exchange with the Alexandra Palace crowd, with fellow star Luke Humphries suggesting the teenager "lost his head".
Booed Champion Bites Back at Ally Pally
The incident unfolded during the last-16 clash of the PDC World Darts Championship, where the defending champion was facing Rob Cross. Despite securing a 4-2 victory to book a quarter-final spot against Krzysztof Ratajski on New Year's Day, Littler's performance was met with audible boos from sections of the audience.
When interviewed post-match, the 18-year-old world number one responded directly. "I'm not bothered. Really not bothered," Littler stated before adding: "Can I say one thing? You guys pay for tickets and you pay for my prize money. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Come on!"
Humphries Defends Young Rival's Reaction
The reaction drew criticism online, with some branding the teenage sensation arrogant. However, Luke Humphries, who beat Littler in the 2024 final before losing his title to him in 2025, came to his friend and competitor's defence.
"Luke can say what he wants. The crowd sometimes are not on your side. I've experienced it most of the time, to be fair," Humphries said. "You can't blame him. He's a young lad. He's 18 years old. Sometimes it happens. You lose your head a little bit. I don't think people should hold it against him."
Humphries, who must beat Gian van Veen to set up a potential rematch with Littler later in the tournament, added: "He's going to have the crowd against him, maybe. But he doesn't deserve it, to be fair."
Mother's Fierce Social Media Defence
The most vehement defence of Littler came from his mother, Lisa, who took to social media platform X to confront critics. Responding to one commenter, she wrote: "So they buy tickets with there [sic] hard earned money to sit there like t**ts and boo."
In a defiant streak of replies, she mocked critics who labelled her son "arrogant" and "unbearable", responding with laughing-crying emojis and telling one detractor she was "aww gutted for ya nottt [sic]". She summarised the crowd's behaviour as "vile".
Littler himself is attempting to move past the incident ahead of his crucial quarter-final, where he is guaranteed at least £100,000 and remains in contention for the £1 million top prize. "I think nine times out of ten, I'm always going to be favourite," he said. "I can learn from it. Obviously the fans are behind you, they're not in front of you. What's in front of you? It's a dartboard and that's what you've got to do."
