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Luke Littler Loses to Stephen Bunting in Premier League Darts Quarter-Final Amid Crowd Boos
British darts player Luke Littler suffered a 6-4 quarter-final defeat to Stephen Bunting in Brighton during the Premier League Darts. The 19-year-old faced boos from the crowd upon entering the arena and ironic cheers after a poor start. This loss follows Littler's outburst in a previous match against Gian van Veen in Manchester.
Apr 9, 4:57 PM·2m read1 source
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Luke Littler, a 19-year-old British darts player, lost 6-4 to Stephen Bunting in the quarter-finals of the Premier League Darts event held in Brighton. The match marked Littler's second consecutive quarter-final exit in the competition. Bunting, who turned 41 on Thursday, secured the victory after Littler struggled throughout the game.
Littler received boos from the crowd as he entered the arena. He also faced ironic cheers following an early poor performance from which he did not recover. Littler averaged 84 during the match, his lowest average in a televised Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) event, and failed to hit any maximum scores.
Bunting had multiple opportunities to finish the match earlier, including chances on Littler's throw. He converted just six of 21 darts at a double. Littler showed no visible reaction to the defeat, shook Bunting's hand, and left the stage.
The Brighton loss came one week after Littler's 6-5 quarter-final defeat to Gian van Veen in Manchester on night 10 of the Premier League Darts.
That match ended Littler's six-match winning streak. During the game, Littler threw his arms in the air and made a crying gesture toward van Veen after the Dutch player missed double 15 inside. Following van Veen's winning checkout on double six, the players exchanged a handshake before Littler left the stage.
Pundit Wayne Mardle commented on the incident, stating that van Veen had missed inside the 15, prompting Littler's reaction similar to a gesture associated with Simon Whitlock. Mardle added that he could lip-read Littler's words but chose not to repeat them. Mardle noted that van Veen handled the situation better, as Littler missed subsequent darts, including three at double seven.
Speaking to Dutch broadcaster Viaplay, van Veen said he saw Littler cheering toward the crowd after his miss and described the crying gesture as abnormal. Van Veen stated: >"I'm on 90 and miss double 15 on the inside, and then I see him cheering towards the crowd. I don't think that's normal.
