- Luke Littler was angrily confronted by Ricardo Pietreczko in the semi-finals
- Pietreczko, 29, later called Littler ‘arrogant’ in a social media statement
- Littler went on to win the final against Rob Cross with a stunning nine-darter
Luke Littler was confronted by an incensed opponent and branded as ‘arrogant’ at the Belgian Darts Open on Sunday night.
The 17-year-old trounced Ricardo Pietreczko 7-3 in their semi-final clash before beating Rob Cross to scoop up his third professional title on his European Tour debut.
It’s clear that his rise has ruffled a few feathers in the darts industry, with Pietreczko – nicknamed ‘Pikachu’ – squaring up to him after their match.
The German, 29, barged towards Littler after his defeat and proceeded to give the Warrington lad an earful.
Littler wrote on a darts Facebook group: ‘No idea what I did wrong, no idea what he said. He said something then don’t do it again.’
Ricardo Pietreczko confronted Luke Littler after losing 7-3 to the teenage darts sensation
He later wrote on Instagram: ‘So I really appreciated the fact that you can play a game like that at such an age. But I hope the arrogance punishes him’
Littler went on to beat Rob Cross in the final after hitting a nine darter to claim his third professional title
The 17-year-old has an inimitable composure which strikes some as blasé, which is perhaps what riled Pietreczko.
He had also celebrated enthusiastically after taking the final four legs to beat the Polish adversary.
He admitted to only practising for 20 minutes before his 6-2 quarter-final win over Jermaine Wattimenta because he was watching Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
He said: ‘I only had 20 minutes practice because I was watching the football!
‘Everything went well and when Jermaine put me under pressure, that’s when I hit my doubles.
‘If you didn’t see it, I tried to slow myself down taking a drink and tried not to get over-fast, compose myself and that’s what I’ve done.’
Pietreczko later took to Instagram in which he accused Littler of being arrogant. ‘So I really appreciated the fact that you can play a game like that at such an age,’ he wrote. ‘But I hope the arrogance punishes him.’
In the second round of the tournament in Weize, Littler was fuming when Krzysztof Ratajski drank his water.
There was a bizarre incident when Krzysztof Ratajski drank from the teenager’s bottle as he led 2-1 in the second round
The 17-year-old shook his head and gestured with his hand before opening a new bottle
With Littler leading 2-1 in legs, Ratajski drank from the teenager’s bottle of water in an attempt to put him off.
Littler noticed almost straight away and appeared to put the bottle Ratajski drank from on the ground before opening a new one.
He shook his head in anger and gestured with his hand before giving his opponent a confused look.
Ratajski went on to make it 2-2 but Littler dropped just one further leg to book his place in the third round.
Speaking after the match, he said: ‘I saw him drink a bit of my water. I saw him do it again so I just put it on the floor.
‘Trying to get to me. If he is then fair enough, I’m just glad to get the win.’
Littler also took a dig at Ratajski on social media, posting: ‘0-0 drinks my water? 1-2 drinks my water? hmm… goodnight see you all in the morning,’ with a split screen of the incident.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
