Luke Littler goaded the Alexandra Palace crowd after surviving a scare to reach the World Championship quarter-finals on Monday night.
The defending champion, 18, saw off Rob Cross 4-2 in a tricky last-16 clash in which he was booed by some sections of the crowd.
‘I’m not bothered, really I’m not bothered.’ he said when asked about the brickbats after the match. ‘Can I just say one thing? You guys paid for tickets and you’re paying for my prize money – so thank you for my money. Thank you for booing me! Come on!’
The world No1 admitted to Sky that the atmosphere was ‘hostile’ and claimed ‘nobody wanted me to win’ after he had celebrated his win emotionally by gesturing animatedly towards fans. His girlfriend Faith Millar, 19, appeared tense as she watched with his team.
The 2018 world champion Cross, who has dropped to 17 in the world, was throwing to level the match at 3-3 but Littler turned the set around, winning the final two legs.
He racked up 17 180s in the win and averaged over 106 to Cross’s 98, but those numbers did not tell the full story of a tense encounter.
Luke Littler gestures to fans during his post-match interview with Sky’s Emma Paton
Littler will now return on New Year’s Day for a last-eight showdown with either Luke Woodhouse or Krzysztof Ratajski.
It remains to be seen what reception he will get after Monday’s display, but he is guaranteed at least £100,000 for reaching the quarter-finals again – with a £1million payday if he can successfully defend his title.
Littler burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old two years ago, stunning the sporting world and earning £200,000 for reaching the final, before going on to win the event – and land a £500,000 jackpot – last year.
