Luke Littler angry and shakes head at darts opponent who was 'trying to get to me'

Luke Littler angry and shakes head at darts opponent who was 'trying to get to me'

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Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 10/03/2024

- 13:06

The youngster is competing in Belgium this weekend and was involved in a bizarre incident

Luke Littler was left angry and bemused as his opponent at the Belgian Darts Open attempted to put him off in Saturday's second-round match.

Krzysztof Ratajski drank from a bottle of water at the teenager's table during the match but Littler had the last laugh.


Littler is participating in his first European Tour event, flying to Belgium in the early hours of Friday morning after night six in the Premier League.

The 17-year-old was in action later that evening and beat Jose de Sousa in a thrilling match, coming out on top in the final leg 6-5.

Luke Littler

Luke Littler was left angry and confused at Krzysztof Ratajski on Saturday

PDC

Littler was drawn against Polish player Ratajski in the second round and hit six 180s to beat him 6-3 on Saturday.

But there was a bizarre incident during the match that Littler had to overcome.

With Littler leading 2-1 in legs, Ratajski could be seen in the background of his throw drinking from one of the bottles at the youngster's table.

Littler noticed straight away and appeared to put the bottle Ratajski drank from on the floor before opening a new one for himself.

He shook his head and gestured with his hand before looking at his opponent in a confused manner.

Ratajski won the leg to level the match at 2-2 but Littler only dropped one further leg before securing progression to the third round.

Littler was pleased to get over the line after the strange distraction technique from the Pole.

He said: "I saw him drink a bit of my water. I saw him do it again so I just put it on the floor.

"Trying to get to me. If he is then fair enough, I’m just glad to get the win."

Littler will play Damon Heta in the third round on Sunday, looking to get revenge on the Australian.

He lost to Heta in the quarter-final of the UK Open last weekend in a contest full of quality.

Littler has had a sensational rise in the world of darts since his record-breaking run at the World Championship at Alexandra Palace.

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Krzysztof Ratajski and Luke Littler

Krzysztof Ratajski drank from a bottle at Luke Littler's table during the match

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He has already won two tournaments, triumphing at the Bahrain Masters as well as his first Players Championship event.

Littler sits third in the Premier League table after the first six weeks of the competition.

But he has lost in the semi-final on four occasions and is yet to win a night.

Wayne Mardle believes Littler must start picking up wins soon to give him the best chance of qualifying for the play-off stage.

Mardle said on Sky Sports: "Michael van Gerwen’s been getting the wins, but numbers-wise, statistics suggest that he [Littler] is playing some of the best starts in the Premier League.

Luke Littler

Luke Littler had to open a new bottle and put the one Ratajski drank from onto the floor

PDC

"The way that he's scoring, he's right up there with what anyone's doing in the Premier League. The finishing is not great, it's decent, so there's improvement to be made.

"He needs to start getting wins though. He played great in the UK, Open, but didn't win.

"He played some amazing games in this but not won a weekly event.

"He needs to start crossing the line and winning. Once that start happens it will become a habit for him."

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