JEER WE GO
Luke Littler WINS fourth Premier League Darts night as teen has perfect response after being BOOED in Newcastle
Littler boosted his Prem lead and sent a cheeky warning to fans bantering him
LUKE LITTLER turned boos into another champagne performance as he destroyed big rival Luke Humphries 6-1 in the final of Premier League Night 8.
Not only did the Nuke extend his Prem lead with his fourth nightly win, he passed a century of 180s for the season before any of the other seven players had hit the 50 mark.
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Manchester United fan Littler, 18, was booed by the Newcastle crowd when he walked out at the start of the evening.
He responded by pointing his finger at his ear - then dispatching Stephen Bunting 6-0, Rob Cross 6-3 and, in a less impressive finale, World No 1 Humphries 6-1.
Both Lukes have now confirmed the inevitable - their qualification for the Prem final.
And Littler gave a cheeky warning to fans when interviewed afterwards about the pre-match banter against Bunting.
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The Warrington whizkid said: "Now I'm 18 there's more banter I can get involved in. Do I answer back? Yeah."
Littler, 18, made it an incredible five Prem finals in succession and was cheered on by local Toon stars Dan Burn, Harvey Barnes and Kieran Trippier at the Utilita Arena.
The Nuke breezed into a 4-0 lead over Humphries as the fans sang “Leeds are falling apart again” before clinching victory in a surprisingly low key final as Cool Hand had a nightmare on the doubles.
Littler has rested over the past fortnight apart from Prem wins in Cardiff and now Newcastle.
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He admitted afterwards: “Us players have just got to refresh ourselves and re-charge the batteries.
"I just want to put some more points on the board. It’s always important to win the first game and get the points. That’s my goal from now on.”
Newcastle star Dan Burn sings along to Luke Littler's walk-on as he risks wrath of Premier League Darts star
“It’s another week, more points on the board, another nightly win, and now I am sitting even more comfortable at the top, even more points ahead.
"Now I am settled even more going into the next few weeks. Do I look settled? That’s me."
Littler finished the night with ten 180s - giving him 102 for the Prem season after just eight nights.
That's way clear of Humphries in second place on 50, with Michael van Gerwen totalling 43 and Nathan Aspinall 42.
After beating Humphries with a below-par show, the Nuke suggested a hectic schedule was taking its toll.
He revealed: “I said to Luke there, I don’t know how we played that game, we were both tired.
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"But that is what happens when you have to play three games in a night. You can get tired. I am just glad that I dug myself over the line."
Hump[hries agreed as he later posted on X: "Happy to get to the final tonight in the amazing city of Newcastle! Crowd were insane!
"Unfortunately me and Luke just ran out of steam in the final.. especially myself gutted to play like that but there wasn’t much left in the tank! and I hope to put it right next week in Berlin. Thank for the amazing support."
Littler himself added: “As a player, you should always be playing against the board. But I am playing too well for them not to be playing against the board as well as me.
“The winning feeling drives me on. Even winning the first game, I am very happy, and then you know you can relax, go on to the semi-finals, see what you can do, and then go to the final.
“Even when I came down to the bottom of the stairs, I was tired, I didn’t want to come up here.
"It’s another trophy, and there were another two points on the line."
And of the exchanges with fans, Littler joked: "There has always been banter. But obviously now I am 18, there’s more banter I can get involved in. Do I answer back? Yeah.”
And viewers appeared to love the interaction.
One wrote: "He rose above it in tremendous style."
Another claimed: "Doubt he’s in any way worried."
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A third agreed: "He doesn’t care, this kids composure is incredible."
And a fourth had his own theory about the crowd as he posted: "Not booing, they were saying Luuuuuuke."
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