Luke Littler makes major change following abuse on social media after bust-up with Gian van Veen

The 19-year-old, who manages his own social media presence, regularly shares darts and football-related content with his followers.

His online following has exploded since bursting onto the scene at the PDC World Darts Championship in December 2023, when he had just 4,000 Instagram followers.

That figure has now soared to 2.1 million as the two-time world champion's profile has reached global proportions.

Instagram allows users to disable commenting on posts, a feature Littler activated some time ago to reduce the volume of responses flooding his phone.

This proves particularly useful when he shares pro-Manchester United content that attracts criticism from rival supporters.

The setting also helped him avoid considerable negativity following his on-stage altercation with Dutch opponent Van Veen at the Premier League event in Manchester on April 2.

Speaking about the dangers of social media, Littler said: "I am always on social media. I see everything.

"But even before Manchester, you can just go on your settings and say you put someone in your story, people can reply to your story, and it's in your requests (section).

"That's been turned off for ages and ages. So people are messaging me, and I'm not seeing anything. I'm just seeing when I'm scrolling.

"Like Gerwyn Price once said [about social media] 24 or 48 hours and it'll be forgotten about."

The teenage star will be looking to close the gap on current table leader Jonny Clayton, who sits three points ahead on 32 points.

Littler was subject to a chorus of boos in his recent appearance at Liverpool.

The world number one overcame Luke Humphries 6-2 in the last eight before narrowly battling past Michael van Gerwen.

He then ruthlessly dispatched Jonny Clayton 6-1 in the final, with the Welshman struggling to get going.

Littler has been booed heavily in recent weeks, with the youngster sparking a huge backlash ever since his feud with Gian van Veen in Manchester.

He's seemingly learning to adjust to the experience, however, and addressed his relationship with spectators after his win.

"Rotterdam was way louder than this tonight," he said.

Speaking after his win, the world number one said: "There was a little bit [of booing] but this week was nothing compared to last week. I've just got to forget about it. I was definitely focused and wanted to win tonight, and that's what I've done."

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