Luke Littler creating his own 'problems' as PDC rival offers solution to hostile crowd treatment
Ross Smith thinks Luke Littler's behaviour on stage is creating "problems" after he received more hostility from the crowd during the World Series of Darts Finals.
Smith won the second major title of his career at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam after producing an impressive 11-5 victory over Gerwyn Price in the final.
The 37-year-old overpowered Price with 11 maximums, compared to the Welshman's five, in what was a fitting end to a tournament that served up plenty of shocks, including Littler's defeat to Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals.
READ NEXT: Michael van Gerwen could hit new 14-year low at the World Grand Prix as nightmare 2026 continues
Ross Smith challenges Luke Littler to change behaviour on stage
Littler was denied in his quest to claim a clean sweep of the major PDC titles in 2026 by Clayton, but that wasn't the biggest talking point.
Advert
The 19-year-old was left furious by the antics of the Dutch crowd, who subjected him to boos in multiple matches, notably in his 10-9 victory over close friend Nathan Aspinall when referee Charlie Corstorphine paused the match to tell the spectators to stop whistling.
'The Nuke' had previously initiated a boycott of events in Germany for similar behaviour, and threatened to do the same in the Netherlands after his 6-4 win against Danny Noppert on Friday (September 18).
“If the Dutch stay like this, then I’m not going to do any Euro Tours over there," Littler said before following through with his threat by pulling out of Players Championship 29 and 30 in Den Bosch, Netherlands.
In addition, he has cancelled his entry into the Dutch Darts Championship, which takes place in Maastricht from 16 to 18 October.
When discussing the treatment he has received from the crowd, World Series of Darts Finals winner Smith offered the teenager a piece of advice, urging him not to react on stage or he will continue to create "problems" for himself.
"I think if you're aggressive towards the crowd and you're letting them know that it's affecting you and you're making them unhappy, it's not a good thing," Smith said on the Love The Darts podcast.
"I tried to, with Gian [van Veen], I had more banter with them, you know what I mean? Just like thumbs up to them, but smiling, not in an aggressive way and they sort of laugh with you, it's not a problem.
"I think it's how you can react on stage, if you're aggressive towards them, it's going to create problems for you. But like I said, I can't really comment on Luke because I wasn't playing in the games with Luke and I don't know what he actually went through, but they can be brutal at times."
Why is Luke Littler being booed?
For all of his brilliance and often unstoppable levels on the oche, there are multiple reasons why Littler has become the pantomime villain in the sport.
In December 2025, during his World Championship quarter-final clash with Rob Cross, the Warrington-born arrowsmith angered fans with his reaction to the crowd, who sided with his opponent in the hopes of seeing a match of the ages.
"I'm not bothered [by the booing]. Really not bothered. You guys pay for tickets, and you pay for my prize money so thanks for booing me," an angry Littler said to the jeering crowd after wrapping up a 4-2 victory.
"No one wanted me to win, but I proved them wrong yet again."
That arrogance from the world No.1 changed many people's perceptions of him, and that was made even worse when he was involved in a spat with Gian van Veen during a Premier League match in April.
An exciting contest was hanging in the balance at 5-5 when Van Veen squandered a match-winning dart - a miss that he says Littler celebrated.
The action caused the usually mild-mannered Van Veen to stare disapprovingly at his opponent, which in turn appeared to anger Littler, who gestured to Van Veen on his return to the oche.
After failing to wrap up the match himself, Littler performed a 'cry baby' gesture to the crowd as the Dutchman stepped up to seal a 6-5 victory.
Van Veen labelled Littler a "bad loser" after the dramatic showdown in Manchester before the teenager childishly shared an image of Van Veen's comments on his Instagram Story, adding three laughing emojis below.
As seen with Gerwyn Price and many other players who have suffered from hostile crowds, it takes a long time to win them back again, and Littler must rise above the noise instead of feeding them more ammunition.
Topics: Darts, Luke Littler
Thomas Griffin