Adrian Lewis has offered advice to Luke Littler on how to handle hostile crowds, revealing his own experience with booing after changing his walk-on song. Lewis, who has not competed on the PDC Tour since the start of 2023, spoke to Online Darts about his hiatus and his plans to return via the Challenge Tour rather than Q School. "What I've been considering is, having gone on the Challenge Tour, I think there'll be too much pressure if I turn up to Q School, with the expectation of everything else and the pressure of the problem itself as well," he said. "I'd rather get back into the competition side of doing the Challenge Tour and work my way through that way."
Lewis also discussed his personal transformation, saying: "I've just been doing a lot of walking, I've been looking after myself. I've just cut out the junk, really, over the past probably 15 months or so. I still want to lose a bit more, probably another stone, I'd say."
Turning to Littler, Lewis sympathised with the young star's recent treatment by crowds. Littler's World Series of Darts Finals title hopes ended in the quarter-finals against Jonny Clayton after a poor display on the outer ring. The crowd reaction was notable, with constant boos, jeers and whistles directed at Littler. In his first match against Danny Noppert, Littler reacted, leading to a hostile reception that prompted him to threaten to boycott the Netherlands, similar to his stance on Germany. "It's very difficult, I think," Lewis commented. "Obviously, you're under a lot of pressure. Certainly, when he's going for the Grand Slam, for winning everything, you put a lot more pressure on yourself as well." He added: "When you've got that going on, I don't think it's nice. I don't think it's cool. At the end of the day, he's a young lad. He's been one of the best players I've ever seen. I think it's unfair, really, on him."
Lewis linked the hostility to previous incidents in Germany. "I'm not sure. I think it started in Germany, I believe, where they started having a go at him there. Maybe it's just passed on and it's gone to Holland now. It's unfortunate, really. I don't like to say anything like that."
Drawing on his own experience, Lewis advised Littler not to react. "To be fair, it started with me when I changed my walk-on song. That's when it first started. My walk-on song we're actually using now was when it started," he said. "The first time I used it was at Newcastle Premier League. Obviously, I didn't know it was a Middlesbrough song, did I? I thought he was getting booed. That happened for a few weeks and I couldn't understand why. I thought, 'What have I done?'" He continued: "It's difficult because what you're best off doing is trying not to react to them. Just stop getting bored. If you just turn up there and engage with the crowd, because you've got to engage with them anyway because that's part of the job. But if you start booing and all that and wrestling, just take the next level."
Looking ahead to the World Grand Prix in Leicester, where Littler is the defending champion after defeating Luke Humphries in last year's final, Lewis highlighted the challenges of the double-in double-out format. "It's one of the most difficult tournaments," he said. "The thing is, the key to it is getting off with them first three darts, because if you don't, you're in trouble. It's really, really difficult. You try and find the rhythm as well. Obviously, when you're starting on top, for instance, you're up there and then you're back down. It does take a bit of getting used to. I'll tell you, the newcomers to it will find it very difficult."
Lewis, who reached the final in 2010 where he lost to James Wade, admitted players do not look forward to the event. "I think even now, even when I talk to the players, because obviously I see them on a regular basis, I talk to even Nathan [Aspinall] the other night, I don't think anybody looks forward to it," he said. "Even when Michael Smith was world number one, he'd be like, 'I booked me a flight for Wednesday,' you knew it would be out by then. It is really difficult, like I say. I mean, I've been lucky enough to make the final, competing with Phil Taylor in the semi-final, which was only a year off back then. Even if I come back now, I wouldn't have had so many chances of winning that."
To illustrate the unpredictability, Lewis recalled a story about Rob Cross. "I always remember this story. So, when Rob Cross first came over, and bear in mind he was playing brilliant darts then, and I said to him, I said, 'Who have you got?' He said, 'I've got Steve Beaton.' And he goes, 'I think I've got a good draw.' I was thinking to myself, you know, I don't think Rob Cross won a leg. I think Steve Beaton beat him 2-0 and off you go."
