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Luke Littler suffered defeat to Gian van Veen as the Premier League resumed on Thursday evening. And despite receiving guidance about confronting the crowd at the World Darts Championship, it appears he has chosen to disregard it.

In a rematch of this year's world final, Van Veen took on Littler in his maiden Premier League encounter and secured his revenge. The Dutchman triumphed over Littler 6-4 in legs, having been thrashed 7-1 in sets at Alexandra Palace. During Littler's entrance and whilst he stood at the oche, sporadic boos could be heard emanating from the crowd in Newcastle. This is not the first time the two-time world champion has been subjected to such reception.

When the 19-year-old met Rob Cross in a World Darts Championship last-16 clash late last year, the audience favoured his rival. Littler prevailed 4-2 against Cross but endured a chorus of jeers and his post-match interview proved combative, being labelled "classless." He received a warning following this outburst, yet it seems he has paid it no heed.

After the victory over Cross, an animated Littler spoke to Sky Sports' Polly James on stage at Ally Pally and delivered a pointed statement. He said in response to the boos: "I'm not bothered. 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 inflamed the audience further and they persisted with their jeers. Following this incident, ex-darts professional James Hubbard issued a warning to Littler.

He posted 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."

However, after receiving a hostile reception at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, Littler responded via his Instagram story with a swift dig. He posted: "Newcastle, you were brilliant. On to next week. PS 3-1."

The postscript of this message seemingly alludes to Newcastle United's latest fixture, a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. This match occurred 24 hours prior to Littler's defeat. Whilst this jibe is more restrained than his behaviour at Ally Pally, Littler has clapped back at the crowd following booing, something Hubbard had advised he avoid.

Concerning why Littler has lost favour with certain supporters, psychology expert Darren Stanton explained to 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 supported you."