Man United fan Luke Littler is booed by Leeds crowd – after being jeered in Liverpool last month – as he loses in semi-finals to Michael van Gerwen at Premier League event

Luke Littler held his ears and strolled towards the oche as boos rained from the Leeds crowd on Thursday evening.

The Manchester United fan was met with a flood of praise and cheers as he prepared for night 15 of the Premier League Darts season.

Littler, 17, is developing a thick skin after facing similar ridicule at Liverpool in April, where he incited fans after the Reds’ 2-0 defeat to Everton.

In front of a baying crowd of Leeds fans – United’s historic rivals – Littler saw his grip on the Premier League pedestal loosen.

The Nuke defeated Peter Wright 6-1 in the quarter-finals, but succumbed to Michael van Gerwen in the last four by the same scoreline.

Although there was a lot of cheering, there was also a lot of booing throughout the evening as Leeds fans made their feelings known

World champion Luke Humphries dispatched Van Gerwen in the final 6-5 to close the gap to Littler to five points.

Littler (38 points), Humphries (33 points) and Van Gerwen (27 points) have all secured a play-off spot, while Nathan Aspinall and MIchael Smith will battle it out in the final at the O2 Arena on May 23.

The teenager squandered his first five chances to land a treble, drawing boos from the crowd, who were keen to give him a stick.

Ultimately, however, he scored a treble on his sixth attempt, making sure to hit back at his opponents, turning towards them, shaking his fist and smiling.

He defeated Wright in the quarterfinals, leaving an expert to speculate on his opponent’s future.

“Peter Wright is in trouble. This is a walk for Luke Littler,” Mark Webster told Sky Sports.

‘Wright just wants this Premier League campaign to end. This might be the last we see of him in the Premier League, you never know. It’s a big end to the season for him.’

While Littler has won 22 games in a stunning debut season, Wright has managed just two wins.

Littler defeated Peter Wright 6-1 in the quarter-finals in a stunning start to his evening

However, Michael van Gerwen defeated Luke Littler before losing to Luke Humphries in the final

Van Gerwen came out of the traps against Littler, immediately hit 180 and then took the first leg.

That caused some thunder for his opponent, with Littler hitting his first maximum and maintaining a three-figure score to take the second leg.

However, it all went downhill from there as Littler lost the next five legs and left the night with a whimper.