Two-time World Darts Championship winner Gary Anderson believes Luke Littler could be tempted to call quits on his professional darts career a lot earlier than many envisage should the 19-year-old continue to be subjected to abuse from the crowds.
The Nuke, who had reigned supreme in all of the PDC's televised majors this year prior to the recent World Series of Darts Finals, had to fend off jeers from large sections of the crowd in the Netherlands last week when he was beaten by Jonny Clayton in the semi-finals.
Littler's second round showdown against Nathan Aspinall even had to be interrupted so that the referee could issue a warning to the Amsterdam crowd, whilst the world number one was even taunted on home soil when he bowed out of the World Grand Prix in the first round on Monday night.
The sport's biggest name has previously threatened to boycott events overseas as a consequence of the ongoing difficulties he is enduring in European-staged events, with Scotsman Anderson, who has previously faced the wrath of supporters in England, warning the player could even walk away from the game for good should things not improve.
"The one thing I can say, he’s been getting a bit of dog’s abuse at tournaments. It’s vile - it is bad," he said in Leicester this week.
"Now one thing people have got to realise, this young lad, what is he now? 19? He’s got a gift from God!
"This boy is phenomenal and he’s turning up to tournaments and getting treated like that. It could be another 50 years before they see a youngster turn up and play darts like this kid.
"This is something special to witness, to tell their kids, to tell their grandkids about this young lad. How he came on the circuit and destroyed everyone, which he is doing. I think it’s bad.
Luke’s clever. He’s got a lot of things going on and if it got to a stage where he goes, ‘that’s it, I’m finished with darts,’ that’s not going to make any difference.
- Gary Anderson
Anderson added: "He’s going to have a big income coming in from what else he is doing, so he will not miss the darts one little bit. I think people giving grief need to back off because this kid is something special."
Littler hasn't event turned 20 yet and he has already got his hands on pretty much every major PDC title in the game, including the World Championship crown, the World Matchplay and Premier League.
The Warrington ace has accrued almost £5 million in prize money since reaching the showpiece Alexandra Palace final on debut in 2024, whilst he has also signed a reported £20 million long-term agreement with Target Darts.
Having not lost a single match in a PDC ranking event up until this month, Littler has since been beaten in consecutive matches with his last four loss to Clayton in the Netherlands being quickly followed by a shock first round elimination at the World Grand Prix by Luke Woodhouse.
