Luke Littler has called out a darts fan after claiming he was grabbed from behind upon arriving at his hotel in Prague. The teenager is in the capital city for the Czech Darts Open, where he will hope to scoop up the £30,000 prize.
Littler is set to face Scotland’s Cameron Menzies in his opening match as he looks to continue his impressive recent form. The 18-year-old has been a fan favourite since his run to the World Championship final last year, with his popularity and profile only continuing to grow after being crowned world champion in January. However, Littler released a statement on social media after taking issue with one fan’s approach as he posed for pictures in Prague.
On Friday night, he posted: “Just came to the hotel in Prague. Got a few pictures [bearing] in mind it’s 20 past 11 here, it’s busy, so got a few pictures with a few people. And as I’ve gone to walk off, someone has grabbed me and wanted a picture.
“You don’t grab someone, just ask nice, how hard is it? And for the fella who came up to me and my dad shouting, ‘Oi’, and then saying my behaviour is bad and I’m not bigger and better than anyone.
“DO NOT GRAB ME FROM BEHIND because that’s bad behaviour, not me. Because as soon as he’s grabbed, I said, ‘Do not grab me,’ and walked away.”
Littler has been in fine form heading into the Czech Darts Open. He clinched the World Matchplay in July, followed by victories at the Australian Darts Masters and New Zealand Darts Masters. The reigning world champion claimed the Flanders Darts Trophy last week.
While his attention will be focused on defeating Menzies and progressing in Prague, the teenager is also set to return to Germany for the German Darts Championship in Hildesheim next month. Littler has often faced hostile crowds in the country, including at the Munich Grand Prix in April and his ill-fated Darts World Cup campaign with Luke Humphries two months later.
“I had a little head loss moment, I don’t get it and can’t explain it,” he told Sky Sports after losing at the Munich Grand Prix. “Obviously you do your walk-on but then as soon as I got on stage, I started getting booed.
“I got booed in Hildesheim last year, I was flying and they started booing and I lost. Obviously, the Germans mustn’t like us English.”
Littler did not enjoy the crowd’s hostility during his and Humphries’ shock early defeat to German pair Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko. The England duo had been widely expected to win the tournament and Humphries admitted that he could see the toll the crowd was taking on his team-mate.
“It was gutting to see so many English fans happy to see us lose,” Humphries said. “The Germans would never do that to their players. It was incredibly tough, especially for Luke. I could tell by his face he didn’t enjoy it.”
Littler appeared keen to avoid events in Germany after his World Cup experience. However, he is scheduled to compete for another £30,000 jackpot at the German Darts Championship.