LITTLE ISSUE OVER BANTER
LUKE LITTLER will conduct his crowd like a symphony orchestra tonight promising no end to his playful slanging matches with football celebrities.
Luke the Nuke faces Michael van Gerwen at Manchester’s 9,500 sellout AO Arena fresh from his light-hearted spat with Brentford striker Neal Maupay.
At the weekend, Maupay, who went 30 games without scoring for Everton before a more productive loan move to his former club, tweeted a photo of his tussle with Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay, joking: “This fan was desperate for my shirt.”
United fan Littler responded, posting: “Talks more than he scores!”
And Maupay returned serve with a clip of Littler taking out a 170 checkout, replying: “Talk about a big fish.”
Sledging
The Bees’ French striker had previously wound up England stars James Maddison and Kyle Walker with his goal celebrations and sledging on the pitch – and Littler is no stranger to laying traps on social media, either.
After United had torpedoed Liverpool’s hopes of a quadruple by knocking them out of the FA Cup, Littler trolled Jurgen Klopp by sharing a graphic that included the joke:
“What is the difference between Luke Littler and Jurgen Klopp? Littler lands more trebles!”
And the Warrington whizzkid, 17, insists he is going to keep the needle matches going.
Littler said: “I enjoy it – everyone knows who Neal Maupay is and what he does.
Laugh
“Personally, I laugh at what he does so I had my 20p worth, and why not?
“It’s all part of the fun. If other people can’t hack it, bad luck.”
He added: “Playing in Manchester is the night I’ve looked forward to the most – I’m a United fan and I can’t wait to get on that stage in front of a home crowd.
“It would mean the world to win in front of those people, at one of the biggest arenas in the country.
“Hopefully the crowd will be on my side, and they will get involved in the walk-on, but as soon as the referee says, ‘game on’, I won’t be swept up by the noise.
“There’s going to be noise every dart you throw so you have to enjoy it but also shut it out when the pressure’s on.”
And Littler has given under fire United boss Erik ten Hag a vote of confidence.
The Dutchman has been under huge scrutiny this season as United’s chase of Champions League football looking more and more unlikely, with the club sitting 11 points behind Aston Villa in fourth.
Host Edwards queried: “I want to ask you a football question because I know you’re a big United fan, Luke. “Do you keep [Erik] Ten Hag next season?”
And the darts prodigy simply replied: “Yes.”