Luke Littler admitted he wanted the Alexandra Palace crowd to be on his side again after he cruised to the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship.
Littler defeated Krzysztof Ratajski 5-0 to reach the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship for the third year in a row with little trouble and booked a meeting with Ryan Searle.
The 18-year-old went into the quarter-finals under intense scrutiny following his post-match comments in his last round win over Rob Cross, and responded to boos from fans when he said:
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Luke Littler checked out 170 in his quarter-final match against Krzysztof Ratajski at the World Darts Championship.
“Can I just say one thing? You guys paid for the tickets and you paid for my winnings, so thank you, thank you for the money! Thank you for booing me. Thank you, come on!”
Those comments led to boos when Littler entered the walk-on against Ratajski, but they quickly turned into chants of “There’s only one Luke Littler” after he took the first set with a checkout of 170.
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Reigning champion Luke Littler received applause from the crowd after taking to the stage in the World Championship quarterfinals.
Littler averaged 100.04 points and had a high of 10 in his straight-set wins, and admitted after the match that he felt more equipped to deal with the criticism thrown at him.
“Obviously, it’s a new year, the first day of the year. There were boos everywhere,” Littler added.
“But as soon as I got on stage, the crowd was just incredible. Until the stage started, my family and friends were like, whatever happens, happens.
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Luke Littler reacts to his comfortable win over Krzysztof Ratajski at the World Darts Championship.
“As soon as I got on stage, I applauded everyone so they knew I wanted them on my side again. Tonight they were on my side, and I got the job done, so I hope it’s the same tomorrow.”
“I’m growing mentally as a player. I know how to deal with it and I think the Rob Cross match definitely tested me. But yeah, I got through it. In future matches, I know how to deal with it and get through it.”
Littler: I don’t have a board to practice on!
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Luke Littler beat Krzysztof Ratajski at Alexandra Palace to reach the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship.
Although it looked like an easy victory, Littler’s experience was anything but, as he revealed that he struggled with his pitches and changed pitches many times.
He attributes part of the problem to the fact that he took a few days off and didn’t bring home a dartboard to practice with.
But he didn’t take him to practice when he won a year ago, and his next challenge is the semi-final against Ryan Searle, using the same tactics as he attempts to become the first player since Gary Anderson in 2016 to compete in two consecutive world championships.
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Highlights of the World Championship quarterfinal match between Ryan Searle and Johnny Clayton.
“I’m very happy that I passed. Obviously, I haven’t practiced for two and a half days, almost three days,” he added.
“I tried to change the way I threw here and there, and the most important thing was that I got the job done.
“We’re just sitting around the house lazing around, not practicing.Obviously, we haven’t put down the dartboard.
“Well, I don’t get to practice much, but I wanted to practice. I’m playing every day now, so hopefully tomorrow I’ll be a little better.”
“We stayed in the house last year and it worked out well, obviously the house won without the board last year.
“No board in the house this year, let’s see what happens!”
What’s next?
The World Darts Championship continues on Friday 2nd January when Luke Littler takes on Ryan Searle and Gary Anderson takes on Jan Van Veen for a spot in the final.
Both semi-finals can be watched on Sky Sports Darts from 7pm.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live and exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407) until January 3rd. Stream darts and other top sports now.
