Luke Littler's mum has appeared to show her agreement with Wayne Mardle for the way the 17-year-old responded to his altercation with Ricardo Pietreczko at the Belgian Open.
Littler marched on to win the Belgian Open on his European Tour debut after hitting a nine-darter in the final against Rob Cross.
-darter in the final against Rob Cross.The final went all the way to a deciding leg in a nail-biting finish - but it was Littler's semi-final clash earlier in the day that caused an even bigger stir.
The teenage darts sensation went up against Pietreczko, nicknamed 'Pikachu', and eased to victory with an average of 104.
But there were unsavoury scenes at the end as the 29-year-old shook hands with Littler before leaning in to confront the teenager.
Luke Littler was confronted by Ricardo Pietreczko
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It wasn't immediately clear what was said by Pietreczko, but Littler appeared baffled by the confrontation.
Littler wrote on Facebook: "No idea what I did wrong, no idea what he said. He said something then don't do it again."
The German darts player later took to Instagram to explain the altercation and he called Littler "arrogant".
He wrote: “So I appreciated him a lot, that you can play such a game at such a (young) age, but I hope the arrogance punishes him.”
The bust-up garnered plenty of attention online with former darts star Wayne Mardle praising Littler for the way he handled it all on stage.
He reposted a short clip of Littler's reaction when Pietreczko left the stage, adding: "A justified response."
And Littler's mum appeared to agree with Mardle's take as she responded by posting a laughing face and dart board emoji as well as a happy face with hearts.
Littler was clearly able to put the incident to one side as he went through to the final and defeated Cross for the £30,000 prize.
He also jumped up to 28th in the Order of Merit, but he appeared grounded after his big win.
Luke Littler's mum responded to the incident
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"I'm just glad to get over the line," he said.
"I lost the two legs after I hit the nine so I'm relieved to get the win.
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Luke Littler appeared baffled by the confrontation
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"It's always good to be involved in a good game; me and Rob have battles and we bring the best out of each other.
"I'm really happy to hit a nine-darter, I prefer 144 to 141 to finish a nine because when the first treble 20 goes in I'm confident of following it with another.
"I know the spotlight is on me because I've done so well but I just play my darts and get on with it. I just do what I do."
