“That’s three tournaments in three months, that’s not a lot“ – Rumours surrounding Luke Littler’s schedule raise eyebrows
PDC
The World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam ended in disappointment for Luke Littler. The Englishman was beaten 10-4 in the quarter-finals by Jonny Clayton, halting his pursuit of a remarkable run of major titles. In the Darts Draait Door podcast, Damian Vlottes and Vincent van der Voort discussed not only his defeat, but also Littler’s difficult relationship with the Dutch crowd.
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Littler had already received plenty of stick from the stands earlier in the tournament. During his match against Clayton that seemed slightly less intense, according to Van der Voort. Still, he felt the events of previous days were weighing on the world champion.
“The booing wasn’t as bad as on the previous days,” observed Van der Voort. “But he’d had enough. I had the feeling it spilled over from Friday and Saturday rather than today itself. Of course that’s frustrating for him.”
Little worked for him on the oche either. The Englishman tried to make adjustments during the match, but found no way to put Clayton under sustained pressure. “He tried everything. But nothing clicked for Littler. Then you end up getting turned over 10-4.”
Debate over Littler’s behaviour
That also ended Littler’s chance to complete a clean sweep. The podcast debate then shifted to his behaviour towards the crowd. Littler responded several times over the weekend to the noise from the stands, including by cupping his ear.
Vlottes suggested some people feel Littler only fuels the reactions by doing so. Van der Voort sees it differently. “That’s action-reaction, isn’t it? He’s not the one starting it, is he? Otherwise you wouldn’t need to do that. I get it. He walks on and he’s not waving the crowd off.”
At the same time, the former pro acknowledges that a two-time world champion should show a certain level of professionalism. “Of course it’s not smart,” said Van der Voort. “I’m not saying it’s all the crowd’s fault either.”
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Littler was met with whistles and boos from the crowd throughout the weekend in Amsterdam.
Van der Voort mainly warns that persistent booing of Littler could ultimately affect tournaments in the Netherlands. “It’s a bit of copycat behaviour that people start booing him. If he now says: ‘Well, okay, I just won’t come here next year,’ and two more say the same, then you’re done here, aren’t you?”
“The PDC won’t say: ‘We’ll go to Amsterdam again.’ You’ll simply lose a tournament. It’s not that you should let yourself be blackmailed by that, that would be odd. But you don’t have to support him, and you also don’t need to be so vehemently against someone.”
Van der Voort drew a comparison with Gerwyn Price, who for years regularly faced hostile reactions from crowds. “Price had it for years too. When you’re in form, you don’t hear it and everything’s fine. The moment you’re not in such good form, it gets to you. He also struggled for a while and even thought about stopping.”
“Clayton isn’t afraid to win”
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Van der Voort did not want to pin Littler’s defeat solely on the circumstances. Clayton, he said, also deserved full credit. “We shouldn’t overlook Clayton. It showed, because he stood up like a proper pro and finished the job. Clayton is someone who isn’t afraid to win.”
On top of that, Littler never hit his best level in Amsterdam. “Littler didn’t throw what he can all tournament. Nowhere near his peak. At the Matchplay we only talked about how great it was, with a tournament average of 111, and all that. Now I don’t think he’s gone over a hundred this tournament.”
According to Van der Voort, it will be interesting to see what choices Littler makes in the coming months. The podcast discussed rumours that the Englishman will skip ProTours and Euro Tours for the time being and focus on the big TV events.
“If you look at his schedule now: the rumours are he won’t play ProTour and won’t play Euro Tour. So he’ll only play the Grand Prix, the European Championship and the Grand Slam before the Worlds. That’s three tournaments in three months. That’s not a lot.”
The European Championship would be high on Littler’s wish list, based on what Van der Voort has heard. “Apparently, from what I hear, it’s about that European Championship. That’s the only one he’s still missing. That’s the main target this autumn. And then of course the Worlds.”
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Van der Voort did add an important caveat. “These are the rumours here. Maybe it’s not like that at all.” Still, he hopes Littler keeps enough motivation for all the major events to come. “Let’s hope he can at least find the drive to attack those tournaments full throttle.”
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
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.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- 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
- Littler lost to crabtree in the youth/junior/whatever you call it. He had no point in being there. He's unfortunately now got to the stage,he feels all he has to do is get on the stage to win. Well,I hope he realises part of his fear factor has gone. Happened to Taylor,then van gerwen,and it's causing him to realise pretty sharp,he isn't unstoppable. It's good for the sport,not 1 single player in my 60 years has ever,or will ever be, unbeatable.rick6725-10-2026
- I think it's great to see Mark Webster looking good,good ladrick6725-10-2026