Luke Littler shares honest verdict on German crowd after controversial European Championship incident

Luke Littler has offered his honest thoughts on the German crowd after advancing into the quarter-finals of the European Championship with a 10-5 victory over Nathan Aspinall.

'The Nuke' produced an unstoppable performance against Aspinall with the second-highest average (114.47) in European Championship history after smashing past William O'Connor in the first round.

Littler will now play Krzysztof Ratajski on Sunday (October 25) as he aims to win the final major trophy that is missing from his cabinet, but first, the 19-year-old has reflected on another stunning display on the big stage.

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In his quest to complete a career Grand Slam and join Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor as the only two players to achieve that feat, Littler had to return to Dortmund for the European Championship after previously boycotting events in Germany over crowd trouble.

The world No.1 had faced repeated jeering and hostile atmospheres during events in Germany, including Premier League nights in Berlin and the German Darts Grand Prix in Munich.

He also threatened and followed through with a boycott of events in the Netherlands, too, after facing hostility from the crowd during the World Series of Darts.

Therefore, heading into the European Championship, there was obvious worry about what sort of reception he would face. Luckily, he hasn't faced many boos from the spectators, though there was a moment during his clash with Aspinall where the referee had to stop play to warn a member of the crowd.

"That's the first thing that's happened [with the crowd]," Littler said via the Oche 180. "Just before the bull on the 126, the front table, they just decided to bang really loud on the table.

"The guy that done it, he looked up, I pointed at him [and] I said, 'that's you that' and then he just picked up his pen and started writing on his little 180 card, he didn't look up."

That incident hasn't tarnished his view of the crowd, though, praising them as "very good", while even teasing his return to the European Tour in 2027.

"He knew what he'd done but that's the first thing I've had all weekend and [the] crowd's been very good," he continued.

"Because I've not been to Germany this year apart from Berlin so it's kind of like, obviously it's the second time they've seen me so obviously, I want a good reception because I want to be doing European Tours next year in Germany, whereas if they're not good to me then I won't go. [German European Tours] may be on."

After vowing not to return to Germany previously, it appears the crowd in Dortmund are growing on the teenager, who will want to complete a clean sweep of major trophies.

European Championship schedule

Saturday, October 24

Afternoon session — 12 p.m. BST

• Cameron Menzies 4–10 Gerwyn Price
• Stephen Bunting 10–3 Kim Huybrechts
• Ross Smith 10–7 Damon Heta
• Gian van Veen 6–10 Luke Woodhouse

Evening session — 6 p.m. BST

• Krzysztof Ratajski 10–8 Kevin Doets
• Martin Schindler 10–4 Jermaine Wattimena
• Nathan Aspinall 5–10 Luke Littler
• Jonny Clayton 10–8 Josh Rock

Sunday, October 25

Afternoon session — 12 p.m. GMT

• Gerwyn Price vs Stephen Bunting
• Krzysztof Ratajski vs Luke Littler
• Martin Schindler vs Jonny Clayton
• Ross Smith vs Luke Woodhouse

Evening session — 6 p.m. GMT

• Two semi-final matches and the final

European Championship prize money

• Winner: £150,000
• Runner-up: £80,000
• Semi-finalists: £50,000
• Quarter-finalists: £35,000
• Second round: £20,000
• First round: £7,500
• Total prize fund: £750,000