‘They should be thanking him’ – Darts TV pundit hits out at brutal Luke Littler treatment at Premier League in Berlin
A DARTS star has hit out at the negative treatment Luke Littler received at the Premier League in Berlin.
The league leader crashed out in the first match after suffering a surprise 6-2 defeat to Chris Dobey.
Littler was treated to a hostile atmosphere during Night 9 in Berlin.
Some sections of the crowd booed the world champion, who interacted with the audience and made gestures.
Darts star Max Hopp, who acted as a pundit at the event, was surprised to hear boos and was critical of the anti-Littler sentiment.
He said: “I heard it too. He was interacting a lot with the crowd, making gestures and engaging with them.
“But I don’t understand why people would boo him.
“They should be thanking him! The fact that prize money is about to skyrocket is all because of him.”
Some sections of the crowd had already showed their dissatisfaction before Littler had even thrown his first dart.
That is because his opponent Dobey walked on to a different song – Gigi D’Agostino’s L’Amour Toujours.
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Luke Littler prize money breakdown
Here is all the prize money Luke Littler has won so far after being crowned 2025 PDC World Darts Championship winner:
World Championship 2025 – £500,000
World Championship 2024 – £200,000
Grand Slam of Darts 2024 – £150,000
European Tour – £91,000
Player Championships events – £71,500
Players Championship final runner-up – £60,000
UK Open 2023 + 2024 – £17,500
World Matchplay – £10,000
World Grand Prix – £7,500
European Championship – £7,500
(Unranked) Premier League Darts – £315,000
TOTAL: £1.43 million
Dobey has used the song before but in Germany it did not go down well because it has been co-opted by far-right groups in the country.
Littler gave a brief thumbs-up to the German crowd as he walked off stage dejected at the result.
The 18-year-old was not his usual self after averaging just 93.28 – his lowest in the tournament over the last nine weeks.
Darts commentator Wayne Mardle could not believe what he was witnessing from top-of-the-table Littler.
He asked on Sky Sports: “What is going on?”
Mark Webster, the 2008 Lakeside world champion, added: “Luke was poor on the doubles, just 15 per cent, you cannot legislate for that. Chris did his job.
“An uncharacteristic performance from Luke, he looked disappointed at the end.
“He left himself too much work to do. A big boost for other players. It’s good to see the best players in the world looking fragile.”