Luke Littler faces major tournament withdrawal decision after threatening Dutch darts boycott

Luke Littler will be forced to decide whether he takes part in the Dutch Darts Championship in less than a month after threatening to boycott events in the Netherlands.

After his thrilling final-leg victory over Nathan Aspinall at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam on Saturday (September 19), the teenager threatened to boycott future events in the northern European nation after being whistled at and booed by the hostile crowd throughout the match.

At one point, the whistling became so extreme that referee Charlie Corstorphine was forced to intervene, asking spectators to stop.

Pointing at a section of the crowd, Corstorphine said: “Ladies and gentlemen, please, out of respect to both of the players, please do not whistle whilst they are throwing. Thank you.”

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Fans on social media also voiced their annoyance at the behaviour, with many urging both Littler and Aspinall to walk off the stage in protest, although they remained on the oche for the duration.

Littler has previously experienced similar treatment in Germany and has since stopped playing European Tour events there.

Speaking after last night’s match, the PDC world No. 1 threatened to do the same when asked if he’d consider boycotting events in the Netherlands.

“With the Germans, I haven't been for a long time, we will have to see in Dortmund whether it changes or stays the same,” Littler told Online Darts.

“If the Dutch stay like this, then I’m not going to do any Euro Tours over there.

“There’s just no point in me travelling, wasting my time while I’m getting booed.

“I just want to play my darts, obviously sign autographs.

“The past two nights, I’ve done nothing, I’ve just walked off stage without thanking anybody. There’s no point thanking everyone when they are booing me.”

Littler faces Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals on Sunday (September 20), with the semi-finals and final taking place later in the day.

Luke Littler has major tournament participation decision to make after boycott threat

Littler’s resolve to follow through with his boycott threat will be tested sooner rather than later, as the Dutch Darts Championship will take place in Maastricht over three days in October.

The youngster has only played in three European Tour events this season – in Poland, Belgium and Czechia – and his participation in the upcoming Dutch event remains uncertain.

If Littler wins the World Series of Darts Finals, he will keep alive his hopes of completing a clean sweep of the majors in 2026.

After the current tournament, Littler must win the World Grand Prix, European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals.

No player has previously won all 10 majors in one calendar year.