They say you either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain. At a feverish and hostile Alexandra Palace, the same crowd that cheered Luke Littler on as a 16-year-old boy now jeers him to victory as an 18-year-old man. The character arc has come full circle; the heel turn complete. He is three matches from retaining his world title, and remains the overwhelming favorite to do so. But from this point, he’s going to have to do it on his own.
As he finally skewered the winning dart to beat the spirited rob Cross 4-2, he spun around to rebuke the audience that had done everything in its power to rattle him, from cheering his missed doubles to singing for Michael van Gerwen instead. “NOW WHAT?” he screamed at the sea of rented fancy dress, onc and then twice. The heckling continued, surged even, and had still not abated by the time Littler gathered for his stage interview.Related: Bunting hurt by online abuse of teenage son after exit from darts world championship
“I’m not bothered, I’m not bothered, really I’m not bothered,” he said with all the firmness of a man so unbothered he needed to make the point three times. “Can I just say one thing? You guys pay for tickets and you’re paying for my prize money. so thank you for my money.Thank you for booing me.COME ON!”
Anyway, you remember early in Littler’s career – by which of course we mean earlier in Littler’s career – when the kid was new and diffident and monosyllabic and certain people wondered if there was actually much of a personality in there behind the beaming bearded façade? Well, you asked for it, and here it is: a very modern English sporting hero, unashamedly brilliant at what they do and utterly indifferent as to who knows about it. Think Jude Bellingham, think Tyson fury, think paddy Pimblett. Love, hatred, adulation, contempt: it’s all just…