Vincent van der Voort has urged the Premier League to change their line-up because there are ‘too many Luke Littler fanboys’ in the current group. Littler is the defending champion and has taken the competition by storm, pulling clear at the top of the standings. He is eight points ahead of the rest of the field and has won the last two events in Cardiff and Newcastle.
Some players have been particularly friendly towards Littler, offering fist-bumps and handshakes during matches in recognition of his scoring. This behaviour has annoyed Van der Voort, who believes somebody like Dirk van Duijvenbode would step up regardless of who he is playing.
Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast, Van der Voort said: “Compared to some of the players in it now, I’d much rather watch Dirk. There’s always something happening when he plays.
“Some players just show up and act like the perfect son-in-law, but that doesn’t bring much excitement. There are too many Littler fanboys right now, so it would be great to see Dirk in the mix. He steps up to compete against him and does everything to win.
“Every little thing, they’re giving him [Littler] fist bumps or smiles. Dirk wouldn’t do that, just like he didn’t at the UK Open. [He] wasn’t in the tournament this year, but in previous years he definitely would have been.”
The likes of Stephen Bunting and Nathan Aspinall were criticised for being too friendly with Littler at the recent World Darts Championship. They were each involved in pleasant exchanges with the 18-year-old, who secured victories over both players.
Aspinall later vowed to toughen up and show more ‘aggression’ when facing Littler in future. He said: “I pretty much get on with everyone, but I showed him too much respect that night.
“That’s the only thing I do agree with on social media, because I got a bit of criticism for being too nice. I do agree with that and I’m going to make a conscious effort [not to be].
“I’m not just talking about playing Luke. I’ve got to make sure I keep the friendships in the practice room. When I get on that stage, I need to show aggression. At the end of the day, I’m there for myself.
“People who I classed as my mates have said stuff about me. Obviously [they’re] not [mates]. They’re all out for themselves and that’s how I’m going to be this year.”
