Luke Littler seemingly took aim at Newcastle United supporters following his Premier League Darts exit at the Utilita Arena in the North East.
The world champion suffered a 6-4 quarter-final defeat to Gian van Veen on the tournament's opening night.
Despite his own loss, Littler took to Instagram Stories with what appeared to be a pointed message for the home crowd.
Alongside an image of himself watching the event on a projector screen, the teenager wrote: "Newcastle, you were brilliant. On to next week... PS 3-1."
The cryptic postscript appeared to reference the Magpies' 3-1 Carabao Cup semi-final second leg defeat to Manchester City, which took place the previous evening.
Last year's Premier League runner-up received a mixed welcome from the Geordie crowd during his appearance at the oche.
While some fans greeted him with scattered boos as he made his entrance, others offered applause and chants throughout his match.
The divided reception came despite Littler's elimination at the first hurdle this time around.
Luke Littler seemingly took aim at Newcastle United supporters following his Premier League Darts exit at the Utilita Arena in the North East
|GETTY
His defeat to Van Veen marked a stark contrast to his previous visit to Newcastle, where he had progressed through the competition.
The atmosphere was less hostile than during his 2024 Premier League debut, though the teenager still faced criticism from sections of the audience.
Littler had already indicated before the Carabao Cup match earlier this week that he would not be tuning in to watch Newcastle's cup tie.
He said: "If it was 2-1 [on aggregate], then maybe, but 2-0 down going to the Etihad [Stadium], yeah, it's not good."
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Luke Littler suffered a 6-4 quarter-final defeat to Gian van Veen on the tournament's opening night
|GETTY
The darts star acknowledged he had backed the Magpies during their Carabao Cup final triumph over Liverpool the previous year, when they overcame Manchester United's rivals.
He had anticipated facing jeers from the Newcastle faithful and hoped to silence critics with a quick victory.
When asked about his Instagram dig, Littler was dismissive: "It's all banter at the end of the day."
Littler recalled his previous Newcastle outing, where he dispatched Stephen Bunting 6-0 in approximately nine minutes.
Five things to know about the sport of darts | PAHe said: "Last year, my first game was against Stephen Bunting, and I beat him 6-0, and it was over in about nine minutes, so it was quick on and off."
That evening saw several Newcastle players in attendance, including Dan Burn, Harvey Barnes and Sean Longstaff.
Their manager Eddie Howe expressed surprise upon learning of their night out.
Howe said: "You'll need to give me a list of names, please. Hopefully it wasn't a late night? Maybe they should've been in fancy dress!"
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