Luke Littler has faced regular booing from crowds during recent Premier League nights, drawing support from former pro and analyst Chris Mason, who believes the teenage sensation deserves respect for his achievements. The world number one, aged nineteen, currently sits fifth in the Premier League table after one win from the first two rounds. On Thursday night in Glasgow, Littler will at least collect his second point of the campaign, as illness to Michael van Gerwen has handed him a direct place in the semi-finals.
Mason expressed visible irritation at the behavior of sections of the crowd, noting that booing a dominant player is a familiar phenomenon but not justified. "It's a typical British thing, we don't like winners," Mason said. "I'm not surprised he got booed in Newcastle, though, as it's happened before." He pointed out that Littler has also faced hostile reactions outside the United Kingdom, citing an incident in Germany where Littler "got a load of stick" and has since indicated he might avoid returning unless necessary. Mason highlighted the significance of this, given that "something like 30 per cent of tickets sold at the World Championship are to Germans."
The ex-pro observed that jeering is becoming more common in darts, citing Gerwyn Price as an example of a player often targeted. "The culture of booing has worked its way into darts, you just have to look at the stick Gezzy got," Mason remarked. He explained that such disruptions can have serious consequences during matches, especially when it involves targeted noise like whistles. "If it's a wall of noise you can play in it, it's when the whistles and the other sounds come in that it gets tricky. You become very aware of it and, when you throw, you almost wait for it because you know it's coming."
Mason expressed confusion over fans' behavior, stating, "I don't really understand it and I don't like it. Why are people booing the best player in the world? Let him and the other players do what they do and play at their best." Luke Humphries also commented on the issue, recognizing that success can trigger resistance. According to the former world champion, it's a familiar pattern when a player dominates for a long time, as he experienced himself when topping the world rankings. Humphries believes some fans get used to one player winning and crave change, with booing sometimes used to knock a dominant player out of rhythm.
