“I was like, ‘Is he going to come back out?’ Because it was relentless’” – Luke Littler defended after crowd drama in Amsterdam

The main topic in the darting world as of late has been around Luke Littler’s frosty reception at the World Series of Darts Finals as he lost in the quarter-finals to Jonny Clayton, his first major loss of 2026. Paul Nicholson and Polly James pinpointed the relentless booing and especially whistling, which could be affecting the Littler game.

It all started with the most prominent case against Danny Noppert in the first round. ‘The Nuke’ did prevail but was not at his best and found himself behind in the early stages.

At one point, he gave it back to the crowd, but it seemed to backfire as the partisan support became even more vicious and relentless. It led Littler to even threaten to boycott the Netherlands, in a similar vein to what he has done in recent times with Germany after recent harrowing experiences.

It is not the first time on Dutch soil that Littler has not been the most popular player in the arena. His reception at the Premier League Darts event in Rotterdam earlier this year was one of the worst the 19-year-old ever endured, following in the events from Manchester when he and Gian van Veen had a moment on stage.

Littler would back the first round win with a remarkably tight 10-9 triumph against Nathan Aspinall before a finishing disaster class against Clayton saw him exit in a 10-4 loss with 17 darts missed on the outer ring.

The discourse from that tournament has largely centred around the Littler debacle. Darts fans have been picking sides as they assess Littler’s most recent crowd interaction.

James, who was at the event and saw it first-hand, detailed the atmosphere when he played Noppert. “I've got to say, you know, there were boos, there were jeering, but the whistling was very loud, to the point where I think when he was playing Danny Noppert on the Friday, I thought, ‘This has got to be the worst that I have ever heard,’” she said on the Love the Darts podcast.

She even referred to the events of Rotterdam earlier in the year. “I've been there when Gezzy Price has been playing at AFAS Live, and I thought, okay... To the point where, when he was going off in the break, I was like, ‘Is he going to come back out?’ Because it was relentless.”

She found some sympathy with the two-time world champion after finding out that it was even worse in Germany.

“I did then, obviously, you know, go back into the press room and I said, ‘Guys, it is absolutely relentless out there.’ And they said, ‘You haven't been to Germany, Polly, to see him play or to hear the whistling.’” Apparently, it's a lot worse out there, but what I experienced, I was thinking, ‘That is a lot to take on.’”

This has not always been the case. When Littler burst onto the scene, he was remarkably popular with the crowd and even humoured them at times on stage.

Nicholson noted this. “We have seen Littler have some banter with the crowd, which we're all for, by the way, because we want people to have that connection. One of the greatest things about this sport is that there is a connection between the fans and the stars.”

However, a barrage of whistling has since replaced it at times when the world number one takes to the stage. The profound effect of this for the darts players is rather significant.” But what we have at the minute is a trend of people using whistling as a way to make themselves feel heard,” Nicholson continued.

“Dart players don't like it because it's piercing. It gets in your ear, and it happens in a very short, sharp way. It comes from nowhere, and you don't know if it's going to come when you're throwing a match dart or a leg dart, or even going for a treble. So, if it comes out of nowhere like that, it can put you off, and your shoulder jolts, and you don't want that.”

This creates a substantial difference between booing and whistling. “A boo is a lesser frequency and it's more mundane. You can handle them a lot better. But these short, sharp whistles, which is what they are, they're horrible. And the worst thing is, if it happens once, you think, ‘Is it going to happen again?’ And you can't fully focus.”