Luke Littler admitted that darts fans might be "bored" of seeing him win following his narrow victory over Mike De Decker in the first round of the Winmau World Masters.
on Friday.
The 19-year-old came close to a stunning nine-darter, while De Decker won back-to-back sets but missed a match dart for a 3-1 win before Littler produced a late fightback.
Littler broke De Decker to drag the contest into a deciding set, where he won both legs to complete a 3-2 win and set up a second-round meeting with Ross Smith.
After the win, Littler revealed that he is aware fans might be growing tired of his dominance in the sport, having experienced the crowd now back his opponent in the big moments on multiple occasions.
The Manchester United fan also referenced Wayne Rooney's response to England boo-boys after a goalless draw with Algeria at the 2010 World Cup - an outburst that made headlines.
"Everything was going on tonight - boos, cheers - I just had to do my thing," Littler said.
"I think in my head now people want to see new winners. People are getting bored of me, Luke (Humphries) and Gian (van Veen) winning.
"Obviously, people can pick who they want to support or who they want to boo.
"Like I said tonight, I am not going to do anything during the game or after it. I'm just going to play my darts.
"You have seen it with Wayne Rooney - that clip at the World Cup, 'nice to see your fans boo you.'
"I saw that on my TikTok literally a few hours after my Rob Cross game (at the World Championship).
"It's pretty crazy. Like I said, I have to learn from the Worlds and just not react."
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
Round Two x4
Best of seven sets
Damon Heta v Chris Dobey
Gary Anderson v James Wade
Gian van Veen v Nathan Aspinall
Jonny Clayton v Gerwyn Price
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4
Best of seven sets
Rob Cross v Josh Rock
Stephen Bunting v Danny Noppert
Luke Littler v Ross Smith
Luke Humphries v Luke Woodhouse
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