Luke Littler reacted angrily during his Premier League Darts clash against Gian van Veen on Thursday night. The 18-year-old was back in Manchester where he faced a tricky quarter-final clash against Van Veen.

The match was a repeat of the World Championship final, which Littler won in emphatic fashion. But it was a role reversal in Manchester as Van Veen raced into a 4-1 lead – putting him one set from glory. However, Littler began to show his class as he started to dig deep to claw his way back into the match.

And Littler soon found himself level at 5-5 after Van Veen missed a match dart. The World Champion had a chance to complete the comeback, but fluffed his lines on D7.

The Dutchman had the chance to capitalise, but went inside on D15 – which sparked some heated words between the two players. Van Veen the turned around and glared at the hometown hero.

And Littler responded by throwing his arms into the air, before gesturing at the crowd – who started to boo Van Veen. There was still a match to be won, however, and Van Veen was able to check-out and beat the Nuke.

Littler’s resilience has become a defining trait, helping him to win matches from seemingly insurmountable positions – even if it did not come off on Thursday.

Just last month, he came back from five legs down against Gerwyn Price to claim a 6-5 victory on night seven of the Premier League in Dublin.

“I don’t think I’m ever out of a game,” he explained. “Against Gezzy, going 5-0 down and winning showed that. At 5-3 I said to myself: ‘I’ve got him’. You could see him starting to miss.

“Sometimes it feels like I’m 1-0 or 2-0 up before I even get on stage. Some players treat it like their final when they play me. It’s belief in yourself and your ability. I don’t think I’m ever beaten in a game.”

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