Darts star Gerwyn Price was forced to apologise to Luke Littler during their Premier League Darts play-off clash, which saw the teenager angered by his opponent's celebration. Price was 9-5 down at the time and mounted a comeback from 9-4 to level the match at 9-9, before ultimately losing to 'The Nuke' in the last-four for the second consecutive year, decided in the final leg.
The Incident
In the 15th leg, 'The Ice Man' took out 170—the highest possible checkout in the sport—and celebrated with a traditional reeling-in-a-fish gesture to signal the big fish finish. However, Littler had already started the next leg and complained to referee Huw Ware when he removed his darts from the board. At the end of the leg, Ware intervened and issued a warning to Price. Price was apologetic and approached Littler, exchanging words and a hug.
This incident comes just weeks after Littler clashed with World Championship final opponent Gian van Veen, who accused him of celebrating missed darts. In that final leg, van Veen missed double 15 to win the match and turned to the crowd before throwing again, seemingly frustrated at Littler's reaction. Littler paused, threw his hand in the air in van Veen's direction as if urging him to hurry up, and later made a crying gesture after missing his own match darts. Despite shaking hands, Littler continued to fume as van Veen spoke in his direction. After the game, van Veen suggested Littler had cheered his missed darts, though Littler claimed he was trying to hype himself up for his family. Littler recently revealed the two have still not spoken but will likely move past the issue when they meet again.
The Final
On Thursday, Littler ultimately beat Price in a last-leg decider, setting up a final with arch-rival Luke Humphries, who defeated Jonny Clayton in his own last-leg decider in the other semi-final. In a repeat of last year's final, Littler gained revenge for his defeat 12 months ago, winning another last-leg decider and pocketing the £350,000 prize money after both players missed match darts.
After the final, during his post-match interview with Sky Sports, an emotional Littler broke down in tears as he spoke about the struggles he faced during the tournament. He said: 'After Brighton I came off stage 70 odd average. The incident in Manchester I was sat at home saying to Faith I don't want to do it anymore. Just the crowd week in and week out I said I am down bad.' Littler was consoled by Humphries as fans at the O2 Arena sang his name, and his partner Faith was also seen crying in the crowd.
In two weeks, Littler and Humphries will join forces to represent England at the World Cup of Darts, aiming to improve on their first-round exit at the hands of Germany last year.
