German darts star Ricardo Pietreczko squared up to Luke Littler last month at the oche and has been reminded of that incident after being accused of copying the teenage sensation. ‘Pikachu’ was furious after the 17-year-old attempted a showboat finish in their Belgian Darts Open semi-final and made his English opponent aware of his frustrations after suffering defeat.
“So I really appreciated the fact that you can play a game like that at such an age. But I hope his arrogance punishes him,” Pietrczko said on social media moments after losing to Littler, having got in the youngster’s face before the teen went on to claim his first Euro Tour victory in the final against Rob Cross.
Littler insisted that he had “no idea” what aggrieved his opponent after trying an unconventional 147 checkout, though did receive an apology the following week as Pietreczko admitted that he “got a little bit too emotional and overreacted”.
Darts icon James Wade recently defeated Pietreczko in his native Germany but curiously noted ‘Pikachu’ showboating on several occasions, despite fuming at Littler for his similar act of showmanship.
“Last week I beat Mike de Decker and played quite well, then seemed comfortable against Ricardo Pietreczko at 5-3. But he threw some great legs at the end of the game and he ended up winning,” Wade wrote for the Daily Star.
“A week seems like a long time in darts and the good news is that I can see my game coming along again. It was interesting playing Pietreczko in his homeland of Germany, especially only a few weeks after his on-stage incident with Luke Littler.
“He was having a lot of fun with the crowd and at one point went for a bullseye finish when I was still about 200 points behind. It really doesn’t bother me – in fact, I like the showmanship – but hopefully he will remember that feeling when he is accusing others of being arrogant or disrespectful. column after he played Pietreczko last week…”
The world No. 32 does have a history of hot-headedness on stage, which was on show when he lost 5-1 to Beau Greaves in last year’s Grand Slam of Darts. The crowd took to Greaves rather than Pietreczko who cupped his ears to the audience and was met with a chorus of boos. He threatened to walk off stage if the negative reception continued.
The 29-year-old’s attitude towards his opponents caused Sky Sports commentator Wayne Mardle to accuse him of acting “disrespectfully” in the aftermath of his furious clash with Littler.
“When some players lose, they act disrespectfully because they have lost… and that has to change,” Mardle said. “Respect your opponent. Professional darts is a stressful environment. It’s not for everyone. The world of darts has gone crazy for this kid (Littler) because he’s a darting freak… and I love it.”
