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Luke Littler was defeated by Gian van Veen as the Premier League returned on Thursday evening. And although the Nuke was given some advice about warring with the crowd at the World Darts Championship, it seems he hasn't taken that on board.

In a rematch of this year's world final, Van Veen faced Littler in his first-ever Premier League clash and got his revenge. The Dutchman bested Littler 6-4 in legs, having been demolished 7-1 in sets at the Alexandra Palace.

During Littler's walk-on and while he graced the oche, a scattering of boos could be heard from the audience in Newcastle. This is not the only occasion the two-time world champion has been on the receiving end of some jeers.

When the 19-year-old faced Rob Cross in a World Darts Championship round of 16 tie late last year, the crowd sided with his opponent. Littler beat Cross 4-2 but was subjected to a cacophony of boos and his post-match interview was a fiery one branded "classless." The Nuke was warned after this outburst, though it appears he's ignored it.

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After the win against Cross, a fired-up Littler spoke to Sky Sports' Polly James on stage at Ally Pally and delivered a sharp admission. He said in response to the boos: "I'm not bothered.

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"Really not bothered. Can I say one thing? You guys pay for tickets and you pay for my prize money. Thank you for booing me. Thank you. Come on!"

This riled up the crowd even more and they continued to boo him. In the aftermath of this outburst, former darts pro James Hubbard cautioned Littler.

He wrote on X: "You can't go on stage and tell the crowd, 'You guys pay for tickets to pay for my prize money.' He's world number one. Behave like one and represent the sport properly, end of."

But after he was on the receiving end of some boos at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, Littler took to his Instagram story with a quick jibe. He wrote: "Newcastle, you were brilliant. On to next week. PS 3-1."

The postscript of this upload appears to reference Newcastle United's most recent match, a 3-1 loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. This game took place 24 hours before Littler's loss.

Although this taunt is far less passionate than his antics at Ally Pally, Littler has still bitten back at the crowd after being booed, something Hubbard had advised him not to do.

Regarding why Littler has fallen out of favour with some fans, psychology specialist Darren Stanton told OLBG: "Fans will probably let a little bit of cockiness and arrogance go by if the person's been around for a very long time or if they're a bit older.

"But when somebody's so young and has come up the ranks so fast, then begins to demonstrate arrogance and cockiness, the crowd can become quite hostile.

"If Littler continues in that behaviour and that particular frame of mind, his popularity is going to diminish, even if he continues to win. It's a really silly thing to alienate the people who have really supported you throughout your career."