Luke Littler booed in Liverpool upon entering arena for night 12 of Premier League

Lewis Henderson
Thu, 23 Apr 2026 20:01:34 +0000

Luke Littler has been booed for the second event in a row as he walked down to the oche for night 12 of the Premier League of Darts.

The world number one was public enemy number one last week in Rotterdam following his bust-up with Dutchman Gian van Veen.

The noisy Liverpool crowd at the M&S Bank Arena drowned out the 19-year-old's walk-on song of Greenlight by Pitbull.

Littler did not react to the chorus of boos, applauding the fans before taking to the stage.

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The Nuke has been in action against Luke Humphries in Liverpool for his quarter-final clash, winning 6-2 in a comfortable display.

Littler, who currently sits second in the Premier League, will be looking to replicate the success he has had on night five, seven and eight, where he picked up his only wins so far this season.

The world number one made it to the final last week against Jonny Clayton, but lost out to the Welshman, who leads the way in the league.

Clayton has won the last two events, exceeding expectations with many thinking he will be near the bottom of the league with Stephen Bunting and Josh Rock.

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Both Littler and Clayton are all but guaranteed to finish in the top four, with Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen occupying the other two spots, before the night started.

After his recent success, Clayton told Sky Sports: "I don't watch many games back, but I watched last week's game against Michael (van Gerwen) back, and it hurt a little bit when someone said I was favourite to finish bottom – that really hurt and annoyed me.

"That really hurt. I've been here three times before, and I've done finals night, so hopefully I can prove them wrong.

"Definitely (it has given him some fuel). They might be looking at some other people. They've got the wrong person."

A fortnight ago, animosity between Littler and Van Veen intensified after the Englishman threw his arms in the air after his Dutch rival missed match darts.

Van Veen subsequently accused the world number one of celebrating the miss and being "out of order".

Playing only an hour from Van Veen's hometown of Poederoijen, Littler was always unlikely to win the support of the local crowd.

The event tonight was always likely to see Littler experience boos, with him being known as a prominent Manchester United supporter.

The 19-year-old previously rallied the Merseyside crowd after Everton beat Liverpool 2-0 in 2024, with Littler holding up two fingers, mimicking the scoreline.