Luke Littler blasted as ‘arrogant’ by darts rival after tense moment on stage

Luke Littler was branded ‘arrogant’ by Ricardo Pietreczkoon after he was confronted on stage by his darts rival during the Belgian Darts Open.

The 17-year-old won his first European title on his debut with an 8-7 victory over Rob Cross in a thrilling final – having overcome a tense encounter in the semi-finals.

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His last-four clash against German Pietreczko caused a stir as the pair were seen in a heated conversation after Littler had sealed a 7-3 win.

As they shook hands, Pietreczko was seen shouting in the face Littler before making his way off the stage.

It’s not clear what was said but the teenager seemed bewildered by the incident.

Piereczko, 12 years Littler’s senior, later said on social media: “I appreciated him a lot that you can play such a game at such a young age but I hope the arrogance punishes him.”

Littler later said of the incident on social media: “No idea what I did wrong, no idea what he said. He said something then don’t do it again.”

Piereczko wouldn’t have been happy with how the rest of the evening played out as Littler beat fellow Premier League Darts star Cross 8-7 in a thrilling final in Belgium.

A key moment saw Littler go 6-5 up with another stunning nine-darter.

Littler burst onto the scene at the PDC World Darts Championship at Ally Pally in December and January as the then 16-year-old made it all the way through to the final in what was a fairy tale run.

He ultimately fell short as he was beaten by Luke Humphries in the final, however, Littler’s heroics earned him a spot in the Premier League.

As well as winning the Belgian Darts Open, Littler won the Bahrain Darts Masters, which saw him beat three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen.

On his stunning victory over Cross to win in Belgium, Littler said: “I’m just glad to get over the line.

“I hit the nine and then lost the next two legs, so I’m just glad to get over the line. It’s always good to be involved in a good game.

“Like Rob said just then, I bring the best out of him and he’s thankful for that, so we always push ourselves to the last leg.”