Ross Smith produced a superb victory at the World Series of Darts Finals last weekend, but the post-event spotlight was just as much on Luke Littler, who again faced boos and whistles from the Amsterdam crowd. Darts commentator Mark Wilson, who was on site all tournament at AFAS Live, said the situation spiralled out of control on Saturday night, especially during Littler's match against Nathan Aspinall.
Speaking to talkSPORT Darts, Wilson made clear he had little sympathy for the behaviour in the stands. "I've obviously been in the arena all week. I thought Saturday night, it was the worst I've ever seen it," he said. He was especially bothered by the constant whistling and jeering, which he said didn't happen only during Littler's matches. "The whistling and the jeering and everything, not just for his game either. But, by the way, when, you know, it was not great all the way through, but, you know, he's playing Nathan Aspinall too. When those two get together, they play brilliant. They just fire off each other."
Wilson used a striking comparison to underline his disbelief. "It's like putting prime Messi and Ronaldo on the same pitch and then making them play on a 1970s baseball ground. You're just taking away... Why are you trying to put players off that are there to entertain you and play brilliant darts?" He added that the atmosphere became so toxic he braced for an unusual outcome. "It was really bad. I must admit, I thought they may leave the stage. It got that bad. I thought they might have walked off just to prove a point, but credit to them. They stayed on and they played a great game."
The Dutch darts scene also criticised part of the crowd's behaviour. Wilson pointed to Raymond van Barneveld, who was working as a TV analyst at the event. "Barney was on the TV with us at the weekend. He gave them some real stick on Sunday before we went on air to the crowd. He addressed the crowd and said, 'Look, this is not on.'" Wilson said Vincent van der Voort took a similar stance. "I know Vincent van der Voort, another former famous Dutch player, has done the same. He's come out and publicly said, 'This is not good enough.'"
Wilson even warned that persistent issues could affect the Netherlands' place on the PDC calendar. "Don't have that many tournaments in Holland right now. And I tell you what, if they carry on behaving like that, they're not going to have any." However, he noticed a clear change on Sunday. "What I will say, on Sunday they were a lot better on Sunday. A lot more fair. I mean, Ross Smith played Gian van Veen in the semi-finals. I think he thought he was going to get hammered by the crowd. He didn't get anything." Wilson therefore believes the hostility was mainly directed at Littler. "So, in some ways, they were more than fair when Van Veen played in the semi-finals. So, I think it was just a bit of a Littler thing and it just got out of hand, really. And I... You can understand if he says, 'Look, I don't need you guys. So, you know, if you're going to be like that, I won't come.'"
Wilson could only speculate on the exact cause. He suspects jealousy plays a role. "You're watching a generational talent that, when he's playing his best, he's borderline unbeatable. And yet people insist on booing him away. I think there is a lot of jealousy there. You're watching a young man that's earning far more money than everyone's ever earned in darts. And some people don't like it. But, you know, they're the losers in it, really. We want to watch him and watch him play well. And if he gets beat fair and square, then brilliant. But if he doesn't, then he deserves to win."
Wilson first wanted to credit Smith. The Englishman put together an excellent tournament and beat Gerwyn Price in the final. It earned him his second major PDC title. "Oh, he was outstanding," Wilson said of Smith. "He's won four titles already this year. So, he was one of the four players going into it, reached the European Tour final the week before. So, again, playing really well, and he just played beautifully all weekend." Smith also made a big impression in the final, Wilson added. "He was outstanding in the final against Price, averaging, I think, 103 in the end, and just blitzed Price for a lot of 180s and some big finishing. So, a worthy winner." Wilson expects Smith to contend more regularly for the biggest prizes in the coming period. "I think now that's his second major title in four years since his first one. I think he now becomes a real big player in all the big events. I think it'll keep going for him. I think he'll win another big one soon."
