'Real fear Littler could walk away' - darts would be loser in booing row

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Why does Luke Littler keep getting booed?

At just 19, Luke Littler has won almost every major trophy in darts.

He is a multi-millionaire with lucrative sponsorship deals and his own TV show.

But has his rapid rise turned some against him?

This past weekend the teenager was once again subjected to boos and whistles from sections of the crowd as he took to the stage at the World Series of Darts in Amsterdam.

What is surprising though is that it came as 'The Nuke' was on a quest to complete a darts clean sweep by becoming the first player to win all 10 major televised tournaments in a calendar year.

Littler suggested afterwards that, if the booing continues, he will not attend events held in the Netherlands.

But Samuel Gill, editor of Dartnews.com, suggests Littler's future in the sport could be at stake.

"There's a real fear that within a few years he'll just turn around and walk away from the sport," Gill told BBC Sport.

"So, I think for fans, 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you'. If people keep taunting him and don't want him to win, he might end up just walking away and not bothering anymore."

Amsterdam was the latest tournament where Littler has faced what some might describe as an overly hostile reaction from fans.

A vibrant pantomime-style atmosphere is part and parcel of the darts experience and Dutch and German crowds are amongs the most raucous - but it is clear Littler believes he has been unfairly targeted.

The referee stopped the match during his narrow win against Nathan Aspinall in the last-16 on Saturday to warn the hostile crowd about its behaviour, before play resumed.

It followed Littler also being booed during his win against home favourite Danny Noppert on Friday.

The teenager's quarter-final defeat to Jonny Clayton ended Littler's quest for the clean sweep, but the Warrington native clearly felt fans had been unduly harsh towards him.

Littler has now withdrawn from a series of upcoming events.

"Just no point in me travelling, wasting my time while I'm getting booed," said Littler.

What information do we collect from this quiz?'Not a unique experience for Littler'Littler has also been jeered at numerous events in the UK.

His phenomenal rise saw him reach the PDC World Darts Championship aged just 16 in his debut year as a professional.

He captured the title the following year and the trophies, sponsorship deals and six-figure winners' cheques have continued to flow.

But increasingly so have whistles and boos during his performances.

"I don't think people expected him to reach the heights that he has so quickly," Gill said.

The darts journalist - who became aware of Littler when the sport star was 14 - says this level of attention is not just unique to the British player.

"Michael van Gerwen was the same for a long time when he dominated the sport. He barely lost a game in about five years, and he was hoovering up titles for fun and it was similar," said Gill.

"Everyone wanted to boo him and even me as a viewer before I got into this role, growing up watching Van Gerwen, I wanted him to lose because it's something different for the sport every single week."

Currently ranked number one in the world, Littler is so far ahead of his closest rivals that he already has the advantage of only having to play in selective tournaments.

His boycott threat could end up being a blow to tournament organisers.

"They don't like him because he's that good. And he's got a bit of swagger to him," said Karl Holden secretary of St Helen's Darts Academy - where Littler honed his skills from the age of nine.

"Luke's got a bit of a character to him. For me, he's the ultimate professional. He might give a little bit of the large sometimes, but you need that, otherwise darts would be totally boring."

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How the teenager became a dart sensation

It seems remarkable that the future of Littler's career in the sport is even being debated.

More so when you consider his age and the fact he only turned professional two years ago.

However, Gill believes that Littler's rapid haul of trophies, coupled with the huge amounts of money now in the sport, could result in the teenager leaving in the next "four to five years" should the boos and whistles continue.

Gill believes Littler's impact on the darting world is immeasurable.

Tickets to events featuring him are often sold out, applications to darting academies are reported to be at an all-time high and the Briton has transcended the sport.

Gill therefore feels that, if Littler was to walk away, the sport would be the real loser.

"He's the one who is bringing this sport to a completely different level. Nowadays, he is back-page news wherever you go," Gill said.

"He might just decide 'I just want a quiet life now and just live off his money'."

Littler has barely known anything other than winning. His challenged now is maintaining that victorious streak while keeping fans - whose interest helps fund his prize money - happy.

Tricky when some are paying with the hope of seeing him lose.

"If he was on that stage, everybody liked him and he just threw darts, I think I'd get bored of watching him," Holden said.

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