"I don't think he's going to walk away from the sport over this" – Mark Webster expects no drastic decision from Luke Littler after crowd trouble
PDC
Mark Webster does not expect Luke Littler to be driven out of darts by ongoing crowd issues. The Sky Sports analyst believes the 19-year-old Englishman was mainly stung by his treatment at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. According to Webster, the PDC is trying to tackle whistling during matches, although he says booing will never disappear from the sport entirely.
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Littler had a turbulent weekend in the Netherlands. His bid to win every major PDC title in 2026 ended on Sunday afternoon in the quarter-finals. Jonny Clayton proved far too strong for the reigning world champion, winning 10-4.
The defeat, however, was not the main talking point afterwards. Littler repeatedly faced a hostile atmosphere from the stands throughout the weekend. Against Danny Noppert, the crowd was firmly behind the Dutchman, while unrest flared up again a day later against Nathan Aspinall. Referee Charlie Corstorphine even had to intervene during that match due to the whistling.
Littler then hinted he might skip future tournaments in the Netherlands. Webster does not think the Englishman will take it any further. "No, I don't think he's going to walk away from the sport over this," the former world champion told Sky Sports. "He was obviously very upset about how he was treated in the Netherlands at the weekend, but some of the opponents he played - a home favourite in Danny Noppert - he was going to get some rough treatment there."
Mark Webster does not foresee a drastic decision from Luke Littler after crowd issues
PDC wants to stamp out whistling
Webster draws a clear line between booing and whistling when a player is on the oche. "I'm not saying it's right, and the whistling, I know they're trying to take it out of the game.
"The booing, they won't be able to stop, but the whistling is something that's a bugbear to a lot of players at the minute. The PDC are trying to get rid of it.
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According to Webster, solutions are being tested behind the scenes. "I spoke to a few of the security guys who are experimenting with stuff within the crowd, but obviously it got on top of Luke Littler this weekend."
The analyst believes Littler’s outspoken reaction has also amplified the issue. "He was saying after games he wasn't happy with the treatment he got. I don't like saying it, but a lot of the booing is part of the game now. He kind of has drawn attention to it by speaking about it.
Whistling during a throw is a different matter, Webster says. "The whistling is annoying, and I think it's a bit sharper when the players are throwing and it puts them off. A constant boo, I think players can deal with. Luke has dealt with it in the past, and I'm sure he'll be okay."
Boycott need not disrupt Littler’s schedule
Webster would not be surprised if Littler does choose to skip certain Dutch events. The Englishman has already given European Tour events in Germany a miss due to crowd experiences.
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"If he chooses to miss events in the Netherlands, that's his prerogative. There is a Premier League night there, which I think he'll play, but the European Tour, there's 15 events during the year. He doesn't really need to go to the Netherlands, so he can cherry-pick there.
Such a boycott would barely affect his season. "So if he does decide to boycott, he can still plan out his year, really."
Webster does not see Littler quitting darts at such a young age. "He's got a long time left in the sport. I don't think he'll leave the sport as early as people make out. He loves playing darts and he's brilliant at it, so I think he'll just bounce back."
Webster also expects Littler to encounter hostile crowds again. He'll get some more rough treatment and he'll try and deal with it the way he has done the majority of the time, and just win games and win tournaments. He was a little bit hurt at the weekend."
Littler the big box office draw
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Despite what happened in Amsterdam, Littler remains the sport’s main draw, says Webster. "We're still in this boom on the back of what he [Littler] did," he said. There's other players, but he is the main draw."
Webster points to Littler’s huge impact since his breakthrough. "After that run to the World Championships final on debut, and he's backed up by winning back-to-back World Championships. People buy a ticket to watch him. They may boo him, they may whistle when he throws."
"He's the best player in the world, and we've got this sort of culture in our country where the best players receive a bit of rough treatment. They want them knocked off their perch."
That status, Webster says, makes opponents and fans eager to see him lose. He still expects Littler to rebound quickly. "It's easy to forget he's 19 because he's been around since he was 16, and he's done a lot in those three years. We're already talking about sort of holding every major. As good as he is, that's always going to be difficult."
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That’s why Littler, Webster adds, doesn’t need to dwell on the failed clean sweep. ""I don't think he should be too hard on himself about the weekend, he was beaten by the better man in Jonny. He acknowledged that. He was just a bit disappointed with the crowd."
With the World Grand Prix as the next major stop, Webster expects Littler to be back competing for the big prizes soon. "I fully expect him to win a few of the majors remaining. I think the European Championships will be a massive priority for him, because then he's ticked every box."
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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026