"Live rent-free in his head": World champion Luke Littler turns German audience against him

"Live rent-free in his head" World Champion Luke Littler turns German audience against him 25.10.2025, 06:25

After his barb against Germany's number one, Luke Littler remains unapologetic. The crowd in Dortmund reacted with whistles and boos at the European Darts Championship. The scene's superstar isn't bothered by this.

Darts world champion Luke Littler showed no remorse after his social media attack against Germany's number one, Martin Schindler. "I saw a lot of people saying it was a compliment—maybe I was wrong, maybe not," said the 18-year-old after his opening victory at the European Championships in Dortmund. "I just wondered: Why is he mentioning me? And then I posted something."

After his loss to William O'Connor at the German Darts Championship in Hildesheim last weekend, Schindler said in an interview with "Darts News": "He was merciless, he was very strong at scoring 180s and 140s. But then he missed a few chances, and it was clear to me that he wouldn't be able to maintain that level—not even Luke Littler can—and he didn't."

What Littler says about social media

Littler reacted negatively to the statement and commented on social media: "I'm living rent-free in his head." He was referring to Schindler, with whom the Englishman claims he hasn't spoken since. In front of the German fans in Dortmund, Littler was once again the center of attention – accompanied by scattered whistles and boos. "I expected worse," he said.

Regarding his use of social media, Littler said: "I probably shouldn't pay as much attention to it. But I'm young and I do it anyway—I'm always on social media and I have to do it somehow."

Two Germans reach the second round

Meanwhile, Ricardo Pietreczko followed Schindler, who had been challenged by Littler, into the second round. The 31-year-old defeated the favorite Josh Rock 6-4. This leaves two local favorites in the field. Germany's number one Schindler will face Ryan Joyce of England this Saturday and is also expecting a good result in the second round: "Many outsiders will say, perhaps myself included, that the draws could have been worse." Schindler had already cleared the opening hurdle in Dortmund for the first time the day before after four unsuccessful attempts.

For Pietreczko, however, the Westfalenhalle was already a thing of the past. "I think the last two years have shown that I seem to perform well here – simply brilliant," he said, adding, with a view to his upcoming opponent, Wattimena: "I always say: anyone is beatable – and if you want to win a tournament, you have to beat everyone."