Luke Littler told he must 'get used to jealous opponents' by darts legend
Wayne Mardle has said darts sensation Luke Littler must get used to playing jealous opponents, but that youngster is more likely to rattle his rivals due to his talent.
The teenage star continued his rapid rise on the circuit this past weekend as he hit a nine-darter on is way to the Belgian Open title on his European Tour debut. Little defeated Rob Cross 8-7 to claim a £30,000 jackpot as he averaged 103.76 in the final.
His route to the final was not without drama, however. His semi-final win over Ricardo Pietreczko saw the German deliver some tense words to his young opponent before suggesting he hoped Littler's 'arrogance punishes him'.
It was not the first time the 17-year-old saw conflict during that tournament. Littler was left bewildered by Krzysztof Ratajski's attempts to unsettle him in the second round of the competition as the Polish national repeatedly drank his opponent's water.
Wardle has been impressed by Littler's ability to take such activity in his stride. He does not believe the Bahrain Masters champion can be rattled.
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"Pietreczko has done this four or five times when he gets beat, he doesn't like it," Mardle told Sky Sports. "But he normally acts in a pretty petulant way. And to be honest, this is kind of expected but what wasn't expected was the reaction from Luke - he couldn't care less.
Luke Littler was not fazed by the incident and hit a nine-darter in the final against Rob Cross (Sky Sports)"Honestly, look, Littler has got this constitution that is relaxed, he is focused when he has to be, he enjoys the crowd interaction with them and enjoys the game. He enjoys the pressure, all of this and he's just 17.
"There's going to be jealousy, they're going to be jealous for the things that come his way with sponsorships, the endorsements, the money, the fame, the media attention, where some think that they deserve it more than Luke, whether they do or not is absolutely irrelevant. But the likes of Pietreczko couldn't rattle him. You can't rattle Littler. That in itself is rattling.
"I think a lot of players think they can intimidate a 17-year-old. But the drinking of the water [Littler appeared to shake his hand when opponent Krzysztof Ratajski drank from his bottle in Belgium at the weekend], has happened for the last two decades. It's not a big thing. It's just a mistake.
"When you're involved in a game, you've got your blinkers on and you go to the wrong table. The reason that these players are becoming rattled, is because Luke Littler is a better player than them and they don't like it.
"And he has got this confidence. He's got this swagger, see it is arrogance, but you tell me a big hitter in the world of any sport. Someone that's got this, this ability to achieve. They've all got what's seen as arrogance. I think it's just an inner confidence that comes out with Luke.
"Like I said, he's living his best life - if someone gets annoyed at his way that's not for him to worry about. That's for them to worry about and deal with deal it because at the moment, they've got to deal with him for decades to come and good luck with that."
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