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World champion Luke Littler confessed the atmosphere at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters wasn't exactly electric, despite claiming the inaugural title. The teenage sensation, who celebrates his 19th birthday on Wednesday, saw off Michael van Gerwen 8-5 to lift the trophy in the PDC's maiden event in the kingdom.

'The Nuke' also saw off Paul Lim, Gian van Veen and Gerwyn Price to pocket the £30,000 winner's cheque at the second stop on this year's World Series of Darts. However, the Warrington wonderkid didn't hold back when discussing the crowd's energy levels in the Middle East.

"It's a not-so-loud environment tonight, but I managed to play okay early on," he said prior to his second-round triumph over Van Veen. "Later on in the game I didn't play so well, but wins are wins."

The tournament represents a significant step in darts' expansion into the Middle Eastern market. However, Littler's remarks suggest there's considerable ground to cover in creating the raucous atmospheres synonymous with the sport's biggest occasions.

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Nathan Aspinall echoed similar sentiments about the more subdued crowd, acknowledging the gulf between this and Premier League nights. Yet 'The Asp' found a silver lining in the experience.

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"It was different," he said. "But you know what, I enjoyed it. You looked out at the crowd and they were all actually watching it."

Aspinall, who was knocked out by Van Gerwen in the semi-finals, could only chuckle as the crowd repeatedly applauded nearly every dart thrown, but he added: "It was a lot better than I thought. There's a lot more people here than I thought [there would be]."

He was gutted to miss out on this year's Premier League lineup despite making last year's semi-finals. Nevertheless, he maintained a positive outlook as he came to terms with the decision and is keen to move forward.

He added: "To be fair, the Premier League's already picked now, isn't it? So it's not going to make any difference. I'll just concentrate on ranking tournaments and get myself back up into that top eight and be in it next year."

When questioned about whether he felt Saudi Arabia's involvement in darts would go the distance, he subtly hinted some crowd members may not have been genuine darts fans: "I don't know. There is definitely a long way to go.

"It's certainly different. I am not stupid, I feel like they were not all there off their own accord, shall we say. It was quite a small venue but you've got to start somewhere."

The PDC has since refuted those comments and asserted all attendees paid for their tickets and were real supporters. However, it acknowledged the environment may require building in any new market.

Having taken the PDC circuit by storm as darts' new sensation at just 16 years old, Littler already performs like a seasoned professional. Therefore, it came as a shock to witness fans occasionally turning against him during the recent World Darts Championship.

The Nuke experienced his first real backlash from fans at Alexandra Palace. After being hailed as the sport's rising star since turning pro, he found himself on the receiving end of some fan discontent last month.

Littler's dominance has reached a point where some supporters are almost weary of his constant victories. This led to many spectators rooting for the underdog, Rob Cross, during their fourth-round clash at Ally Pally and booing Littler in kind.

"I'm not bothered [by the booing]," he told Sky Sports post-match. "Really not bothered. You guys pay for tickets and you pay for my prize so thanks for booing me. No-one wanted me to win, but I proved them wrong yet again."