Webster: Littler won't walk away from darts over crowd treatment

Sky Sports' Mark Webster believes Luke Littler will not walk away from darts over crowd treatment; Littler has won six majors this year including World Championship but World Series of Darts eluded him; watch Littler's World Grand Prix defence live on Sky Sports from September 28

Sky Sports Darts' Mark Webster believes Luke Littler will not walk away from darts over crowd treatment, adding the PDC are determined to rid the sport of whistling but that boos will always remain.

Littler's bid for a clean sweep of all major PDC titles in 2026 was ended on Sunday after a crushing 10-4 defeat to Jonny Clayton in the last eight at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam, but the main talking point coming out of the event was Littler's continued fractious relationship with darts fans.

Indeed, earlier in the tournament Littler threatened to boycott tournaments in the Netherlands after being booed and whistled at during victory over Nathan Aspinall.

The back-to-back world champion also faced a hostile environment during Friday's win over home favourite Danny Noppert and it escalated on Saturday night as referee Charlie Corstorphine had to intervene in the last-16 win over Aspinall.

Littler has taken a stance against volatile crowds before, refusing to travel to European Tour events in Germany as a result of his treatment from fans there, but Webster does not believe Littler will leave the sport entirely over it.

"No, I don't think he's [Littler] going to walk away from the sport over this," Sky Sports Darts' Webster said.

"He was obviously very upset about how he was treated in the Netherlands at the weekend, but some of the opponents he played - a home favourite in Danny Noppert - he was going to get some rough treatment there.

"I'm not saying it's right, and the whistling, I know they're trying to take it out of the game.

"The booing, they won't be able to stop, but the whistling is something that's a bugbear to a lot of players at the minute. The PDC are trying to get rid of it.

"I spoke to a few of the security guys who are experimenting with stuff within the crowd, but obviously it got on top of Luke Littler this weekend.

"He was saying after games he wasn't happy with the treatment he got. I don't like saying it, but a lot of the booing is part of the game now.

"The whistling is annoying, and I think it's a bit sharper when the players are throwing and it puts them off. A constant boo, I think players can deal with. Luke has dealt with it in the past, and I'm sure he'll be okay.

"If he chooses to miss events in the Netherlands, that's his prerogative. There is a Premier League night there, which I think he'll play, but the European Tour, there's 15 events during the year. He doesn't really need to go to the Netherlands, so he can cherry-pick there.