Luke Littler spoke to Sky Sports following his 6-1 victory over Ryan Searle in the semi-finals of the PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace
Luke Littler praised the Ally Pally crowd after he booked his place in the World Darts Championship final. The 18-year-old looks like an unstoppable force after he demolished Ryan Searle 6-1 in the last four.
Littler was booed and jeered as he beat Rob Cross 4-2 to book his place in the quarter-finals earlier this week. Littler let his emotion out after throwing the winning darts, running around the stage gesturing to the crowd, who had wanted Cross to win.
He then doubled down during his on-stage interview, saying: “You guys pay for tickets and you pay for my prize money, so thank you for my money, thank you for booing me.”
Littler’s mother, Lisa, later hit out at the spectators who booed her son. And although there were boos when the darts sensation made his way to the oche for his showdown against Searle, cheers could also be heard.
And on the reception he received, Littler said: “This is crazy. A few boos, a few cheers but it’s been a good crowd. Big shout out to Paddy Power for blurring the signs after what Ryan said because he’s partially blind in on set.
READ MORE: Why Paddy Power logo is blurred for Luke Littler vs Ryan Searle semi-final matchREAD MORE: World Darts Championship change confirmed after Ryan Searle speaks out
“I went 1-0 down and was not the happiest. I thought I didn’t play that well. Everyone knows I just want to go 1-0 up, get into that lead.
“I said to myself ‘you will find it’ and it went 1-1, 2-1, 3-1 and so on. Big shout out to Ryan. He’s done amazing this tournament. He can be proud.”
‘The Nuke’ was on fire against Searle, averaging more than 105 to secure a comfortable victory, despite losing the opening set. The game’s momentum shifted when Littler broke Searle to win the third set after ‘Heavy Metal’ botched his setup, failing to hit the bullseye and only managing the outer bull.
Littler capitalised on this mistake, checking out on tops to take control of the match. And from there the Manchester United supporter didn’t look back as he put on yet another masterclass.
Littler will face either Gian van Veen or Gary Anderson in the final, and he admitted: “It’s going to be a brilliant game.
“I don’t mind who I play. They’re both good lads, but yeah, whoever hits their doubles first wins that match.”
On Littler’s performance, John Part, speaking on Sky Sports, said: “A wonderful match for Luke Littler. He had his first deficit after losing the first set by six straight sets sorted that out.
“He averaged over 100 in all of those sets. How do you like to face that if you are the opponent? Someone will in the final…”
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