The mother of darts world champion Luke Littler has launched a furious social media defence of her son, branding sections of the Alexandra Palace crowd as "vile" and "t***s" after they booed the teenager during his latest victory.
Hostile Atmosphere at Ally Pally
Reigning champion Luke Littler faced a hostile reception from spectators at London's Alexandra Palace on Monday night as he battled into the quarter-finals of the PDC World Darts Championship. The 18-year-old, who recently became world number one, overcame both a determined challenge from 2018 champion Rob Cross and the vocal disapproval of the crowd to win 4-2.
The competition, which offers a record £1 million prize to the winner, saw Littler guaranteed at least £100,000 for his last-16 progress. However, the young star's passionate celebrations and reaction to the booing have sparked significant controversy.
Mum Lisa's X-Rated Social Media Defence
The fallout continued into Tuesday when Littler's mother, Lisa, took to social media platform X to fiercely defend her son. Responding to critical comments about Luke's behaviour, she did not hold back.
To one user who wrote "The more I watch Luke Littler, the more I hate him," Lisa sarcastically replied: "Aww gutted for ya nottt." In a more explicit retort to another, she fired: "So they buy tickets with there hard earned money to sit there like t**ts and boo."
When someone suggested Littler should act more like a world number one, his mother was unequivocal: "Best comment so far am sure Luke will carry on behaving like one as he as done crowds were vile let's all boo the world number one idiots man."
Littler's On-Stage Reaction and Apology
The row was ignited by Littler's own post-match interview with Sky Sports immediately after his win over Cross. Taunting the crowd, the player known as 'The Nuke' said: "Am I bothered? Really, am I bothered? Really not bothered."
He then added provocatively: "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."
Later, in a press conference, the 18-year-old appeared to regret his initial outburst. "I think I lost it," Littler admitted. "The fans have done what they done and I've reacted as any other player would really... Think I might have reacted a bit early." He conceded he had to refocus to "get on with the job" and secure the victory.
Littler's win sets up a quarter-final clash with Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski on New Year's Day, as he continues his quest to retain the world title he won in sensational fashion as a 16-year-old sensation.
