WARRINGTON’S Luke Littler was booed in Brighton as he recorded his lowest PDC TV average in defeat to Stephen Bunting, his Premier League quarter-final exit following on from his spat with Gian van Veen last week.
A week on from his much-publicised spat with Dutchman Van Veen in Manchester, the world champion suffered another last-eight loss after appearing rattled by a hostile crowd on night 10 of the competition.
Littler was subjected to jeers as he entered the Brighton Centre for the third match of the evening and then endured ironic cheers during a poor start from which he could not recover.
Bunting, who turned 41 on Thursday, could easily have enjoyed a far more comfortable success as he was gifted multiple opportunities on his opponent’s throw and hit just six of his 21 darts at a double.
Littler, who changed his darts throughout the contest, showed little reaction to the loss, shaking Bunting’s hand and exiting the stage meekly after averaging only 83.94 and failing to hit a single maximum.
It was the 19-year-old’s lowest average in a televised PDC match.
Jonny Clayton ultimately moved three points ahead of Littler in the table by producing a stunning comeback to beat seven-time champion Michael Van Gerwen in a gripping final.
After his win, the Welshman confirmed that Littler and Van Veen practiced in different rooms at the Brighton Centre.
“They’re always in separate practice rooms, myself, Mike [Van Gerwen] and Luke Humphries were in one and usually Gian comes into that,” said ‘The Ferret’, who recorded his third nightly win this year.
“I don’t think there’s anything of it, it’s just the way it happens. Gian was in with us and Luke [Littler] was in the other one. There’s nothing in that at all.
The BetMGM Premier League moves across the English Channel, as Rotterdam hosts another crucial night of action at the earlier start time of 6 pm.
Dutch No 1 Gian van Veen will host Luke Humphries on his first Premier League night on home soil, as home hero Michael van Gerwen faces Jonny Clayton.
Luke Littler locks horns with Gerwyn Price in a crucial battle near the top of the table, while Stephen Bunting hopes to make further inroads towards the Play-Offs as he takes on Josh Rock.
Night 11 – Rotterdam Ahoy on Thursday, April 16.
