Darts sensation Luke Littler has revealed a fan gave him a minor injury during his maiden Premier League victory on Thursday.
The 17-year-old dispatched Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Nathan Aspinall to win the £10,000 weekly prize for the ninth time.
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However, at a point unknown to the television cameras, his arm was grabbed and pulled by a spectator during his match against Van Gerwen in Belfast.
Security personnel can be seen having harsh words with a member of the crowd, although it is unclear what action was taken.
Littler said: “I don’t know who he was, he pulled my arm. It hurt a little.
“That’s why when I went on stage I didn’t interact with my music. I heard everyone singing but I just needed to relax.
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“As soon as (referee) Charlie said ‘play,’ I had to relax. My hand feels good. It worked well.”
Although he was briefly shaken by the incident, Littler defeated former world champion Van Gerwen in a 6–3 victory.
Van Gerwen noticed that Littler was uncomfortable before the match, although he was apparently unaware of the real reason.
Speaking after his defeat, the Dutchman said: “From the start of this match it went badly.
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“I can see he’s not comfortable and then I’m just too concerned about him instead of focusing on my own game.
“But there was still more to do. I have now played Luke six times, losing three times and winning three times.
“Every time he won against me it wasn’t convincing, whereas he does it against other players. I just have to enjoy it, which is still a disadvantage that it didn’t work out This evening.”
Littler, who shot to fame at the PDC World Championships, moved up to second in the Premier League eight-man table with a 6-4 victory over Aspinall.
The Englishman is now four points behind world No.1 Humphries ahead of the next event in Manchester.
Speaking on Thursday, Littler said: “I’m happy to win, it’s my first. I’m happy to win against a good friend.
“I trained more for it and it paid off. I had a good practice match before I went out with Rob Cross. That motivated me for it.”
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