Danny Noppert has explained an eye-catching moment with Luke Littler following his exit at the World Series of Darts Finals, revealing the pair spoke after a tense quarter-final clash at AFAS Live in Amsterdam on Friday night.
The Dutchman shouted after hitting a 180 while Littler was set for his next visit, then immediately made it clear to the Englishman there was no malice behind it. Noppert approached his opponent to explain he was not trying to break his concentration on purpose. "Because he already gets taken out of his rhythm so much," said Noppert, referring to the whistles and boos from the crowd.
The Amsterdam crowd clearly sided with the Frisian and reacted loudly whenever Littler approached the oche, with the reigning world champion responding with gestures towards the stands. Noppert initially seemed to benefit from the atmosphere, moving 3-1 ahead, but could not build on that start as Littler battled back to close it out 6-4.
Afterwards, Noppert was mainly critical of his own display. "I had the crowd behind me. I felt it and I appreciate it enormously," he told Viaplay. "All match long I felt I missed too much. The support was immense, but unfortunately I didn't win. I'm playing against myself, in the end, not against him. If I look at what I produced tonight, it was below par."
The behaviour of part of the audience did not have Noppert's full approval. While he valued the strong support, he also understood the position Littler found himself in. "I get that they're for me. But it's a pity. We talked it through. I tapped him to explain it. He was fully locked in and I understand that. I don't know if, had I won, he would have accepted it. But I'm a sporting loser."
