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Luke Littler has admitted he wants the Alexandra Palace crowd “on his side again” after progressing to the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship.
Littler was barely troubled in his 5-0 win over Krzysztof Ratajski, where he advanced to the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship for the third year in a row and booked a date with Ryan Searle.
The 18-year-old entered his quarter-final clash under scrutiny following his post-match comments following his previous round win over Rob Cross, where he responded to fans booing him by saying: “Am I bothered? Really, am I bothered?! Really not bothered!
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Luke Littler made 170 in his quarter-final match against Krzysztof Ratajski at the World Darts Championship.
“Can I just say one thing? You pay for the tickets and you pay for my prize money, so thank you, thank you for my money! Thank you for booing me. Thank you – come on!”
These comments led to boos as Littler lashed out at Ratajski, but these quickly turned into chants of “There’s only one Luke Littler” as he took the first set with a 170 checkout.
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Defending champion Luke Littler applauds the crowd after taking the stage during the World Championship quarter-finals.
Littler posted a 100.04 average and shot 10 maximums in his straight-set victory, then admitted after the match that he now feels well-equipped to deal with any criticism thrown at him.
“Obviously it’s the new year, the first day of the year. A few boos here and there,” Littler added.
“But as soon as I got on stage, the crowd was absolutely incredible. Before that, my family and friends were saying that whatever happens, happens.
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Luke Littler reacts to a comfortable victory against Krzysztof Ratajski at the World Darts Championship.
“As soon as I got on stage, I applauded everyone just so they knew, I want them on my side again. They were on my side tonight and I got the job done. So hopefully it will be the same again tomorrow.
“I’m growing mentally as a player. I know how to handle that and I think the Rob Cross match definitely tested me. But yeah, I got through it. In the upcoming matches, I know how to handle that and overcome it.”
Littler: I don’t have a board to practice on!
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Luke Littler beat Krzysztof Ratajski at Alexandra Palace to advance to the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship.
Despite a seemingly comfortable victory, Littler’s experience was anything but as he revealed he struggled with his throw throughout, changing it several times.
He attributes part of the problem to having a few days off and not bringing a dartboard to practice at home.
However, he didn’t bring any when he won a year ago either and is using the same tactic in trying to become the first player to make back-to-back appearances at Worlds since Gary Anderson in 2016 with a semi-final against Ryan Searle as his next task.
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Highlights from the quarter-final match between Ryan Searle and Jonny Clayton at the World Championship.
“I’m very happy to get through it. Obviously I haven’t trained for almost two or three and a half days,” he added.
“I tried to change my throw here, there and everywhere. Most importantly, I got the job done.
“I’m not training, I’m just being lazy at home. Obviously we didn’t drop our dartboard.
“So yeah, I can’t really practice, but I would have loved to. Now we’re playing day in and day out, so hopefully tomorrow will be a little bit better.
“We stayed in the house last year and it worked. Obviously last year the house, without boarding, won.
“House this year, no board – see what happens!”
What’s next?
The World Darts Championship continues on Friday January 2, where Luke Littler takes on Ryan Searle and Gary Anderson takes on Gian van Veen for a place in the final.
You can watch both semi-finals from 7pm on Sky Sports Darts.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407). Stream darts and many other top sports with NOW.
