"I don’t understand why people would boo him. They should be thanking him!" - Max Hopp shocked by Berlin reaction to Luke Littler during Premier League Darts 2025

Luke Littler’s night in Berlin didn’t go as planned. The 18-year-old sensation suffered a surprising 6-2 defeat to Chris Dobey in the Premier League Darts quarter-finals and, in an even bigger shock, was booed by sections of the crowd. Meanwhile, Michael van Gerwen’s late withdrawal due to a shoulder injury meant one less match on the schedule, giving Gerwyn Price a free pass to the semi-finals.

The reaction to Littler’s loss caught many off guard, including German Tour Card holder Max Hopp, who was in Berlin as a TV pundit. "I heard it too," Hopp said. "He was interacting a lot with the crowd, making gestures and engaging with them. But I don’t understand why people would boo him. They should be thanking him! The fact that prize money is about to skyrocket is all because of him."

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As for Van Gerwen, the 35-year-old Dutchman was set to face Price but had to pull out at the last minute due to shoulder issues. Hopp saw him leaving with Vincent van der Voort and quickly realized something was wrong. "I just want to wish him all the best and hope he recovers quickly," he told Sportnieuws.nl.

While Van Gerwen’s absence was a blow to the competition, Hopp stressed that health comes first. "Missing a night is not great for the rankings, but the most important thing is that he listens to his body. He needs to be fully fit for the crucial weeks ahead as the battle for the play-offs heats up."

There was talk of bringing in a reserve player to replace Van Gerwen, but Hopp dismissed the idea. "The Premier League Darts is too big for that. You can’t just call someone up on the night and throw them into this level of competition. Of course, it’s unfortunate for the fans that there was one match fewer, but this was still a massive night for Germany."

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