Luke Littler has been told to lean into his 'heel' persona and "get the numbers up" by a fellow world champion from a different world.
Littler won his second world title earlier this month, defeating Gian van Veen to go back to to back at Alexandra Palace and collect a record £1 million prize pay-out.
The No.1 ranked player was the overwhelming favourite for the tournament but not exactly with the crowd in attendance, who often cheered for his opponents and booed him relentlessly.
After his 4-2 win over Rob Cross in the quarter-finals, Littler lost his head in his interview where he was asked about the crowd response.
Advert
Showing a new side to him, Littler, who had been beloved since bursting onto the scene, said, "Can I just say one thing? You guys pay for tickets, and you pay for my prize, so thanks for booing me."
His mum, Lisa, branded the fans "vile t**ts" in an x-rated social media post.
- If you want to see even more from SPORTbible, make us a preferred source on Google.
The meltdown became a huge talking point and was covered in the United States - with former WWE wrestler and commentator Pat McAfee addressing the topic in a segment titled, "Luke Littler has turned heel".
Advert
'The Nuke' softened his stance in his next two matches but ahead of the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters, WWE champion Drew McIntyre has told Littler, a childhood fan of wrestling, to follow his lead.
The Scot recently captured the undisputed WWE championship for the third time, finally defeating Cody Rhodes and ending his second reign with the strap.
Producing the best work of his career, the 20-year veteran has done so as a nasty villain and has thrown a spanner into the works in plans for WrestleMania in Las Vegas.
Advert
McIntyre has got into darts in the past few years, enjoying the atmosphere, characters and the fact that there are similarities to the profession he has been so successful in.
He also has his own brand of arrows with Target Darts, who Littler recently signed a record sponsorship deal with and is managed by.
But he is adamant that Littler "running his mouth" will be a positive for him and the growth of the sport on the whole as he made a Muhammad Ali comparison.
Advert
"Eventually if you just keep winning, winning and winning people get bored of it and then he’s probably getting some of the stick that’s getting to him," McIntyre told SPORTbible in an exclusive interview.
“So lean into it. Start saying how you feel. As long as you keep the performances and the victories going – you have to win when you talk that much trash.
“More people are going to show up, it’s going to generate interest for darts. If he starts leaning into that and running his mouth like he did in that one interview after the crowd were giving him a bit of stick, that’s what makes attendances grow."
McIntyre added: “If you look at Cassius Clay or Muhammad Ali, people think they loved him all the time. They hated him and they paid to see him lose but he was too good.
Advert
“You look at a Logan Paul today, people just want to see that guy lose. People pay extra money for heels, it’s boring eventually if the good guy wins all the time.
“I’m excited to see him go to the dark side and get the numbers up. There’s a fine line between love and hate and when he turns good again it’ll be even better in the future. Everything is wrestling.”
Littler, who chose his 'Green Light' entrance song because it was the soundtrack for the WrestleMania he attended in 2017, is back in action in the two-day Saudi Darts Masters event.
The prize money for winning is £30,000 but Littler can bag a whopping £75,000 if he produces a nine-darter and will be given the chance to win the 'Golden Bullseye' challenge.
The new concept includes a bonus tenth dart where Littler would have the chance to double his money and pocket £150,000.
Netflix UK & Ireland subscribers can watch Raw, SmackDown, NXT and all WWE Premium Live events as part of their subscription, including Royal Rumble on Saturday 31st January 7PM GMT.
Topics: Drew Mcintyre, Luke Littler, WWE, Spotlight
Josh Lawless