Luke Littler was booed in Brighton as he suffered a second successive Premier League quarter-final loss following a 6-4 defeat to birthday boy Stephen Bunting.
A week on from his much-publicised spat with Gian van Veen in Manchester, the world champion appeared rattled by a hostile crowd on night 10 of the competition on the south coast.
He was subjected to jeers as he entered the arena and then suffered ironic cheers following a poor start from which he could not recover.
Bunting, who turned 41 on Thursday, could easily have wrapped up victory far earlier as he was gifted multiple opportunities on his opponent’s throw and hit just six of his 21 darts at a double.
Littler showed little reaction to the surprise defeat, shaking Bunting’s hand and exiting the stage meekly after averaging only 83.94 and failing to hit a single maximum.
It was the 19-year-old’s lowest average in a televised PDC match.
Asked how it felt on stage, Bunting told Sky Sports: “It was tough, to be honest, because obviously the crowd was giving him some stick. I like Luke, he’s a fantastic lad and I don’t like to see that.
“It probably made me more nervous, to be honest. It put me on edge. The way he was playing, I was expecting him to burst into this barrage and it just didn’t happen for him.”
After walking out into an intimidating atmosphere, Littler attempted to show he was unbothered, touching his ear and shrugging as he turned to face spectators.
However, his confidence proved to be misplaced.
He managed 59 from his opening three darts and just 41 from the next three en route to losing his throw in the first leg as many in attendance enjoyed his struggles.
Bunting, whose own performance was not entirely convincing, missed three darts to go 3-0 up and then squandered a further two to go 4-1 in front, giving Littler hope of a comeback.
But the pre-match favourite was nowhere near his usual standard and suffered another early exit after Bunting began the final leg with a 180 and held his nerve to progress.
Seven-time champion Michael van Gerwen awaited Bunting in the semi-finals after he defeated fellow Dutchman Van Veen 6-4. He defeated Bunting in a close contest, coming through to win 6-5 and reach the final.
Earlier, Jonny Clayton finished with a bullseye to clinch a last-leg decider against defending champion Luke Humphries, while last week’s winner Gerwyn Price lost 6-3 to Josh Rock. Clayton then set up the finale with Van Gerwen having knocked out Rock in a 6-4 contest.
And it was Clayton who took the glory having come from 5-2 down to defeat Van Gerwen and move back to the top of the Premier League table.
He told Sky Sports: “I thought the game was over at 5-2 up for Michael. He missed, he gave me a chance. You’ve got to take chances. That last leg was probably my best of the game. I’m back on top of the table, Luke Littler can start chasing me again.
“It feels great to be honest. I know what it’s like to be here, I’ve got the experience, I know what you needd to get to finals night. Take your chances, play decent, you’ve got a good chance.”
