“The crowd are getting to him” – Luke Littler booed again in Northern Ireland amid struggles in the Premier League Darts
PDCMonday, 02 March 2026 at 18:56
Luke Littler continues to struggle in the Premier League Darts. The 19-year-old world champion lost to Jonny Clayton in Belfast for the second week running and is still waiting for his first final of the season.
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After the heavy 6-1 defeat in Glasgow, a 6-3 loss followed in the quarterfinals in Northern Ireland. Clayton was once again more clinical on the doubles and punished the world number one’s misses without mercy.
Littler also had to contend with a restless crowd during the match. Trailing 5-2, he was interrupted mid-throw by a loud whistle from the stands. The Englishman stepped off the oche, smiled, and gestured towards the crowd as if to challenge the reaction. Shortly after, he produced a fine 112 checkout and urged the audience to calm down.
It proved only a stay of execution. Clayton sealed the match in the ninth leg and recorded a convincing win over the world champion for the second week in a row.
Sky Sports commentator Dan Dawson saw how the circumstances took their toll. “The crowd are getting to him. He is going to laugh it off. It is probably the best way to deal with it. This is what pressure does to people. Luke Littler 5-2 up probably ignores that," Dawson analysed.
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According to the commentator, the defeat was mainly down to finishing. “It’s not quite clicked for him in the Premier League yet. Clayton has been better than Littler and it is mainly down to the doubles. Littler was let down by his doubling and Jonny mercilessly punished that, beating Luke for the second straight week.”
The numbers back that up. Littler scored solidly but missed chances on the outer ring at key moments. Clayton stayed steady and took his opportunities.
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For Littler, it’s another setback in a competition where he impressed last year. After four match nights he sits on four points, two of which came when Michael van Gerwen had to withdraw ill in Glasgow, handing Littler a bye into the semifinals.
The contrast with his Euro Tour showing is stark. Last weekend he dominated the Poland Darts Open, pairing high averages with flawless finishing. In the Premier League, that sustained sharpness is missing for now.
Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- If he can be bothered? He won't play darts in Germany yet he'll go over and get an award!??rick6702-09-2026
- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- I'd happily pay for a site free of Van der Voort's every squeak and utterance.StraightArrowNoBull19-08-2026
- I think you miss the point. It is just a poll if you are willing to pay for an ad-free site. The content stays free.SheGotLegs16-08-2026
- It's great to see Mark Webster looking well,he's a top ladrick6715-08-2026
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