Luke Littler 'a bad loser' and 'needs to sort his attitude out' as backlash sparked in Damon Heta defeat

Luke Littler 'a bad loser' and 'needs to sort his attitude out' as backlash sparked in Damon Heta defeat

WATCH NOW: Sports round-up as Luke Littler loses to Damon Heta at UK Open

Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 03/03/2024

- 16:17

Updated: 05/03/2024

- 17:01

The teenager lost 10-8 in Sunday's showdown

Luke Littler has sparked a backlash online after waiting to shake Damon Heta's hand following his defeat on Sunday.

Heta beat Littler 10-8 to make te semi-finals of the UK Open, with the Australian performing brilliantly during the match.


After the contest was over, Littler appeared dejected.

He made Heta wait to shake hands, though the 36-year-old didn't seem too fazed as he basked in the glory of his triumph.

Luke Littler

Luke Littler lost to Damon Heta at the UK Open on Sunday

GETTY

And darts fans have raged at Littler following his defeat, with many unhappy at how the 17-year-old conducted himself.

"Luke Littler is such a bad loser," said one X user.

A second said: "What a game from both but Littler needs to sort his attitude out when he loses.

A third stated: "What a match. Littler turning his back on his opponent every time he loses isn’t a great look."

A fourth opined: "Littler just needs to show a bit more humility in defeat. Literally not even acknowledge Heta until he came over."

A fifth said: "Littler’s not very gracious in defeat though making the opponent come over to him rather than shaking his hand first, that’s 3 times I’ve seen him do that now."

A sixth weighed in by saying: "Luke Littler is a such a sore loser.

"I don't care what your age is - show respect to your opponent!"

A seventh fan fumed: "Yooooo Luke! TURN THE F**K AROUND AND SHAKE THAT WINNERS HAND."

And an eighth raged: "Littler is great for the sport but he needs to stop turning his back on his opponent when he has lost. Heta rightly had a word about it too."

Heta, speaking after his win, admitted he was delighted at beating Littler to make the last four.

"I was up for it, sometimes I feel like that in my practice as well so I know the feeling," he said.

"To come up against Luke Littler, who has taken the media by storm and darts by storm - I love him to bits and it's a massive boost to darts.

"I know what I'm up against with these Premier League players, these are guys I need to beat and if I keep doing this regularly, who knows, maybe I'll be a top player one day!

"I've got the game [to win the tournament], I've shown in previous results, so there's no reason I can't get the job done."

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Damon Heta Luke Littler

Luke Littler turned his back to Damon Heta after losing at the UK Open

ITV

Reacting to the result, former darts star Mark Webster praised the quality of the match.

"It was one of the best games I've ever seen," he said.

"They were at it from the off.

"Damon Heta, testament to him, he deserved to win that match and he knew what he had to do to beat Luke Littler.

"He said he was up for it and it showed.

Damon Heta

Damon Heta will be dreaming of UK Open glory after his victory over Luke Littler

GETTY

"He's come unstuck in quarter-finals before and he's got over that hurdle - he's in the mix now and he's just performed like a champion but he's got to go and do it again."

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