Raymond van Barneveld shared that he was unimpressed with Luke Littler after the 17-year-old ignored him multiple times despite claiming that the Dutch star was his darting hero.
Littler gained sudden fame earlier this year when he became the youngest player to reach the World Championship final in January.
On his way to the final, the teenager defeated five-time world champion Van Barneveld 4-1 in the last-16, a match that saw Littler face his childhood idol.
The two players have not encountered each other since their match at Alexandra Palace, but Van Barneveld mentioned that their recent interactions at events have left him feeling unhappy.
‘So that’s the weird thing about it,’ Van Barneveld told Sportnieuws.nl. when asked about his relationship with darts’ newest start.
‘I understood then that I am his example. That at the World Championship you don’t chat I can understand, but other tournaments….
‘The other day I walked up to him to shake his hand. Then he took out his earplug for a moment and only said the most necessary thing.’
Van Barneveld took it a step further, sending Littler a congratulatory message after his win at the Belgian Darts Open but stated that he was promptly ignored by the teenager.
‘He responded: yes, I only respond to text messages. Whatsapp I’m actually not on. Well fine, I sent a text message: congratulations with Wieze,’ the 56-year-old said.
‘And then nothing. Fine. Then I’m also a bit done with it. The next time I get asked if I want to do something for him, I’ll pass. I understand that you get thousands of text messages but of course, I’m not just anyone. If I’ve been your inspiration for years, I also expect a text message back.
‘Dude’s on his phone all day, f**k off,’ he joked.
Littler has upheld his world championship form in the months following his final defeat and, despite their awkward exchanges, Van Barneveld was full of praise for the 17-year-old’s abilities.
‘This guy is so brilliant. He doesn’t worry about anything. He’s playing at seventeen like he’s been doing this for years,’ he ended.
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