- Luke Littler’s walk-on ahead of facing Stephen Bunting was ruined by a fan
- The Nuke recovered to beat Bunting but lost in the final against Luke Humphries
- READ: Michael van Gerwen brands rivals ‘weak as f***’ in defence of his form
By DAVID KENT
Published: | Updated:
Luke Littler was left furious by a crowd disturbance involving his mum during his walk-on in Thursday night’s Premier League contest in Exeter.
The Nuke came into the night’s play on the back of a disappointing showing in Dublin against Gerwyn Price, but his evening began in bizarre fashion before the first dart with Stephen Bunting.
During his approach to the stage as part of his walk-on, Littler went to hug his mum, Lisa, who was in the crowd but received what appeared to be a push from a spectator who wanted to shake the player’s hand.
Littler responded by giving the individual a cold stare before slowly making his way to the stage.
After he had made his way onto the playing area, Littler turned in the direction of his family, held his thumb up before seemingly mouthing ‘No’ and shaking his head.
Security members were then seen talking to a member of the crowd in the vicinity of where the players’ family and entourage are seated.
Luke Littler gets involved in a crowd altercation during the walk-on for his quarter-final match
The 18-year-old congratulates Luke Humphries after losing out in Thursday night’s final
It was a mixed night for Littler who played some stunning darts before falling short in the final
But any suggestion that the incident might have thrown The Nuke off his devastating game were quickly dashed as he threw a record-breaking 10 180s in crushing Bunting 6-3.
He then comfortably saw off Nathan Aspinall 6-2 before he met his match in world No 1 Humphries in the final.
The 30-year-old came from 3-1 down to beat Littler in the latest instalment of their growing rivalry, Cool Hand Luke winning on a night of mixed emotions for the teenage sensation.
World champion Littler was runner-up to Humphries in the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship final but beat him to win last year’s Premier League.
Humphries had not beaten Littler in their six previous Premier League matches but he was able to stop the rot when it mattered in Exeter to emerge victorious on Thursday night.
‘Luke played fantastic tonight, he didn’t play as great in the final but I managed to step on the gas, like I did in the other two games, right at the end of the game,’ said Humphries.
‘Being sat on 15 points after four weeks, that’s a dream start for me and hopefully I can keep pushing and keep reeling in the points to guarantee a spot in the top four, because that’s all that really matters.’