The mother of darts superstar Luke Littler has launched a furious, expletive-laden defence of her son after sections of the crowd at Alexandra Palace booed him during his World Darts Championship match.
Defiant Champion Responds to Hostile Crowd
Luke Littler, known as 'The Nuke', kept his cool on the oche to defeat Rob Cross 4-2 in a thrilling fourth-round encounter on Monday night, December 29, 2025. However, the atmosphere turned hostile as the Ally Pally crowd vocally supported underdog Cross, jeering the 18-year-old defending champion throughout the contest.
After securing victory, a fired-up Littler addressed the audience directly in a post-match interview with Sky Sports. "I'm not bothered. Really I'm not bothered," he stated, before adding a pointed remark: "You guys pay for tickets and you pay for my prize so thank you for my money. Thank you for booing me." He concluded by saying, "No-one wanted me to win but I proved them wrong yet again."
Mother Lisa Littler Fuels Social Media Firestorm
The teenager's comments sparked intense debate online, prompting his mother, Lisa Littler, to enter the fray on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). In a series of blunt replies, she did not hold back in criticising the fans who booed her son.
Responding to one user who questioned Luke's right to "financially ridicule" the audience, Lisa hit back: "So they buy tickets with [their] hard earned money to sit there like twats and boo." When another told Luke to "behave like the world No.1", she replied with laughing emojis and wrote, "Best comment so far am sure Luke will carry on behaving like one as he as done crowds were vile let's all boo the world number one idiots man."
In other exchanges, she labelled a critic "a silly sausage" and claimed another led "a sad little life". To a post stating "The more I watch Luke Littler, the more I hate him," she simply retorted: "Aww gutted for ya nottt."
Littler's Meteoric Rise and Next Challenge
Littler, who admits he was "surprised" by the boos, suggested he understood the crowd's desire for an underdog victory. "It definitely fuelled me up and I've definitely played better then," he said in his press conference.
The teenager's phenomenal journey continues as he aims to defend his title. His next match is a quarter-final against Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski on New Year's Day, January 1, 2026. The match is scheduled for the evening session at Alexandra Palace, set to begin at 7pm GMT.
Ratajski, the world number 37 who underwent life-saving brain surgery in 2024, earned his place by defeating Luke Woodhouse 4-2. The winner will progress to the semi-finals on Friday, January 2, with the final taking place on Saturday, January 3.
