"I’m at a loss to explain why he’s been like that" - Paul Nicholson fundamentally disagrees with criticism of Ricardo Pietreczko

Last week, there was a flare-up in the semifinals of the Belgian Darts Open between Luke Littler and Ricardo Pietreczko. But former major winner Paul Nicholson, now active as an analyst and commentator, is taking up Littler's defense.

After exchanging cool words with Littler on stage, the German took to Instagram to say, "Well, I really appreciated him being able to play a game like that at such an age, but I hope his arrogance punishes him."

Nicholson, however, fundamentally disagrees with Pietreczko and immediately refers to another player. "Peter Wright is another player who has been unfairly dubbed as arrogant by some ‘fans’ due to his on stage confidence but he’s actually one of the least arrogant people I’ve ever met. He’s still the same guy that I met in 2008 and hasn't changed one little bit. He's still very softly spoken, he is impossibly generous and kind, but for some reason, when adrenaline pumps through your veins, you do turn into somebody else. That's just chemistry. When you get this surge of this incredible stuff that makes you feel stronger and taller and more capable, certain things may happen that may be perceived as arrogant. It doesn't make someone an arrogant person," Nicholson says.

Nicholson, however, by no means perceived Littler as arrogant. "If you walk into any practice room, whether it's in Bahrain, Ally Pally or Belgium, you wouldn’t even know he was there unless you went looking for him. That tells you an awful lot about Luke. He's a marvellous young kid who at the minute has absolutely the right attitude. He plays the sport like it's a video game. He enjoys it. He just happens to be better than most. We are all incredibly grateful for what he's done for the sport over the last couple of months."

Special finish

Pietreczko was particularly bothered by the way Littler went for a 147 finish (triple 19 - tops - bull). "This isn’t the first time Ricardo has been prickly with people on stage, but I get on with him well and I’m at a loss to explain why he’s been like that.

"You speak to Ricardo off the stage, he’s friendly and he approaches the commentary box before every game, knocks on the window and gives us a bit of a smile."

"When the adrenaline is pumping so heavily, people react differently to it. When you have certain doses of it your body sends you into this numb state when you actually haven't got a clue what you're doing or how to handle it."

"Ricardo has not handled it well and as a result of what happened at the weekend, I'm sure nobody in the crowds or on social media will let him forget it. ," Nicholson concluded. "In a strange kind of way Ricardo has done him a favour, because when someone's got in his face for the first time like that, the way he handled it made people like him even more.

"If he’d hit back or been disrespectful in any way, or done an Adam Smith Neale for instance, then his reputation could have been ruined. Since then, his reputation has improved because of how he reacted.

"An arrogant person would have mocked Ricardo in the aftermath of winning the title during his interviews – but he never did. He’s just talked about it all calmly, played it down and focused on his own achievement"