Luke Littler heads into Night Three of the Premier League in Dublin full of confidence and is ready to “get on with his job” in front of what will be another bumper crowd.
Littler edged out world No 1 Luke Humphries to win Night Two of the Premier League in Glasgow, with the showdown marred by whistling initially aimed at Humphries after also affecting Gerwyn Price earlier in the evening.
The level of crowd whistling eventually led to match referee Kirk Bevins having to intervene over the microphone mid-match.
Last week, Littler came back from the brink of a quarter-final exit to win the second night of the competition. The youngster found himself 5-1 down to Rob Cross before roaring back to win 6-5 and then discovered top form in the semi-final to dismiss Michael van Gerwen 6-2.
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Watch how Luke Littler came from 5-1 down to beat Rob Cross 6-5 in Week 2 of the Premier League in Glasgow
Despite the controversy, Littler is excited to be back playing his best in front of thousands of fans with an electric atmosphere and will solely be focused on getting more points on the board even if any whistling continues.
“It has given me massive confidence. Not only the win, that comeback against Rob Cross to get my first win of the Premier League season, kickstart getting points on the board and then just to go on and win it was the biggest thing,” Littler said.
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Littler landed the biggest checkout of the night as his 170 finish was matched with a wild reeling-in celebration!
“We [players] know week in, week out there’s going to be tens of thousands [of fans]. The atmosphere is always going to be loud, there’s always going to be fans there, pretty much sold out every week.
“We’ve just got to get on with our job and if the fans are whistling against our opponents then it’ll certainly help us.”
Although Littler is ready to entertain another packed house in Dublin, he is aware whistling is not good for any player and can alter how a match goes.
Despite the need for control, though, Littler does not feel it would go as far as needing players to walk off stage because of it.
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Price whistles back at the Premier League crowd in Glasgow after many whistles and jeers were aimed at ‘The Iceman’ during his match with Humphries
“Obviously it’s not a good thing for any fans to be whistling, whether it’s me or my opponent,” Littler said.
“For example, Rob Cross when he missed two at double 18, they whistled, he missed.
“You can say it was the crowd’s fault that he missed those doubles because you never see Rob Cross miss double 18.”
He added: “Obviously, I wouldn’t want it to happen to anyone. If that was the worst case then I’m sure a player, I don’t know, has he got the right to walk off stage? Maybe, or maybe not.
“If a player does walk off stage, then I’m sure the security, they’ve got to do their job and obviously kick whoever’s doing the whistling out. Just kick them out. And then I’m sure as players, we can get on with it.”
The Premier League continues with Night Three at the 3Arena, Dublin on Thursday February 20 as Stephen Bunting meets Humphries in the evening’s opener, while reigning champion Littler takes on 2023 runner-up Price. Watch Night Three of Premier League Darts from the 3Arena, Dublin, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports+.
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