Luke Littler was greeted with a chorus of boos in Rotterdam following his recent spat with Gian van Veen.
The 19-year-old had clashed with the Dutchman in Manchester a fortnight earlier, celebrating a missed double with a flourish that Van Veen later branded “out of order”. Littler also made a mocking crying gesture behind his opponent and when the Premier League roadshow arrived in the Netherlands, the home crowd made their feelings known.
Littler’s image on the big screen drew jeers even before he emerged, and the volume swelled as he walked to the oche for his opening tie against Gerwyn Price. His walk-on music was almost entirely drowned out.
Head bowed, Littler acknowledged the reception with polite applause. He had anticipated as much. “I’m expecting the worst,” he told Sky Sports beforehand. “They’ll be all over me and cheering for Gez. It is what it is.”
Littler tried to quiet the crowd by taking the opening two legs with authority, only for the fans to erupt with disproportionate delight when Price claimed the third. The contest, however, soon settled into a more familiar pattern, Littler closing out a composed 5-2 victory.
A meeting with Van Veen in Rotterdam had loomed in the semi-finals, but the prospect never materialised after the Dutchman fell at the first hurdle to Luke Humphries.
Littler then beat Humphries 6-5 in a high-quality semi-final – which included him making a calm down gesture to the crowd – to set up a meeting with Jonny Clayton, the unexpected star of this year’s Premier League.
It looked as if Littler might sweep to victory after two legs but he was soon pegged back. With Littler then subdued and the crowd behind him, Clayton prevailed 6-4 to extend his lead at the top of the Premier League table. Both men look almost certain now to finish in the top four and qualify for the O2 finals night next month.
The booing is the latest in a growing catalogue of spiky and sometimes angry exchanges involving Littler, the world No 1.
His disagreement with Van Veen had already drawn a mixed reception in Brighton the following week. He also raised eyebrows at Alexandra Palace by reminding World Championship spectators that they “pay his prize money” and claiming that he was not bothered by an adverse reaction.