Premier League Darts star fears Luke Littler will 'probably beat him up' after boos

Jonny Clayton joked that Luke Littler will "come back" and "beat me up" after he extended his lead at the top of the Premier League Darts table by winning Night 11 in Rotterdam.

Clayton eased past home favourite Michael van Gerwen in the quarter-final 6-2 before running into an improved Josh Rock in the semi-final. Despute averaging EIGHT points less than his opponent, it was Clayton who got over the line 6-5.

The Welshman went up against Littler in a showpiece final and he ended up edging the world No.2 with a 6-4 win, throwing seven 180s and averaging just more than 95.

It marked Clayton's fourth night win of the season and has stretched his lead of second-place Littler to five points and he is a mammoth 16 ahead of Luke Humphries, who is just outside the play-off places.

When asked about beating Littler, Clayton joked during his press conference: "I'm not going to say anything because Littler will come back and beat me up.

"He's got everything that every other player wishes for. He's got that attitude, he's got the throw, he's got the mentality. He's got everything. What a player and to beat him, I've done my job."

"I had to do something special because it's my 20th anniversary today and I did forget!" added Clayton, who has won the last two Premier League nights in Rotterdam and Brighton.

"I watched last week's game against Michael [van Gerwen] and it hurt a little bit when someone said I was favourite to finish bottom. That really hurt. It annoyed me a bit to be honest. It's going good for me now and I've got a massive smile on my face."

Clayton has enjoyed an impressive recent record against Littler, winning three of his last four head-to-head matches.

Littler, meanwhile, strengthened his hopes of making the play-offs at London's O2 Arena by making his fourth final in seven weeks, beating Gerwyn Price and Luke Humphries to move on to 24 points in the table.

Speaking to Sky Sports after his quarter-final win against Price, Littler said: "It was exactly what I expected, the boos and whistles. But I knew as soon as I got on stage I could do my job. I was practising very well before the game."

Three-time world champion, Glen Durrant, said: "You called it frosty. I called it hostile. But that's what the Premier League is about. He didn't react each time he was winning legs; he wasn't allowing the crowd to get involved.

"Price was nowhere his best; he averaged under 90 which was a bit of a disappointment, but Littler dealt with the situation incredibly well. There was an unbelievable atmosphere in here."

Littler appeared to tell the Rotterdam crowd to 'calm down' with a gesture following his semi-final win against Humphries. The two-time world champion had been booed throughout the night after his altercation with Gian van Veen earlier this month.

On Night 9 of this year's Premier League, Littler clashed with Van Veen when the pair met in the quarter-final. The score stood at 5-5 and the Dutchman had a match dart on double 15 but narrowly missed.

Littler appeared to celebrate the error, prompting Van Veen to stare him down, and the 19-year-old responded with a 'crybaby' gesture before losing 6-5 in Manchester. The two players have since delivered their verdict on the altercation and Littler was met with a number of boos during his three matches on Thursday.