Following Luke Littler's latest run-in with a hostile crowd over the weekend, the Sky Sports Love The Darts Podcast has debated whether it is time for the world champion to change his approach. Littler's bid for a clean sweep of all major PDC titles in 2026 was ended on Sunday after a crushing 10-4 defeat to Jonny Clayton in the last eight at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam, but the action was overshadowed by the Brit's unhappiness at being repeatedly whistled at by the Dutch crowd. After facing significant hostility during his win over home favourite Danny Noppert on Friday, Littler threatened to boycott future tournaments in the Netherlands after being booed and whistled at during his victory over Nathan Aspinall on Saturday, prompting referee Charlie Corstorphine to intervene.
Littler has taken a stance against volatile crowds before, refusing to travel to European Tour events in Germany as a result of his treatment from fans there. On the latest episode of the Love The Darts Podcast, World Series of Darts Finals champion Ross Smith explained his own approach to hostile crowds, which he admits is inspired by three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "It's a real difficult situation," Smith said.
"I can't speak for Luke because I'm not him and I wasn't in his position, I wasn't on stage at the time. I didn't really experience the whistling too much. I try not to rise to it because I know you're just going to get more stick.
"My manager once said to me, if you look at Michael van Gerwen, he never reacts, not once will he ever react to the crowd. He'll always thank them and he never really gets too much stick and he's very professional about how he does things. So, I admire him for that and I try and learn off of other people.
"I had a bit with Kevin Doets, obviously the crowd, rightly so, they're cheering their local guy on. Same with Gian [van Veen], they're doing exactly the same, but 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. "I tried to, with Gian, 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." Former world championship quarter-finalist Paul Nicholson praised Smith's approach, and suggested that Littler could benefit from learning from some of his rivals.
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