LUKE LITTLER was left shaking his head in anger after rival Krzysztof Ratajski drank his WATER on stage.
The teen sensation defied the bizarre incident to KO the Pole 6-3 in the Belgian Darts Open in Weize on Saturday night.
Littler, 17, was clearly rattled in the early stages but crucially broke the throw in the eighth leg to take control of the match.
He said: “I saw him drink a bit of my water. I saw him do it again so I just put it on the floor.
“Trying to get to me. If he is then fair enough, I’m just glad to get the win.”
Littler later saw the funny side on social media, sharing a split screen of photos of the incident with the caption: “0-0 drinks my water? 1-2 drinks my water? hmm… goodnight see you all in the morning.”
It was a sluggish opening to the game and both players toiled in the quiet atmosphere. But the ‘Watergate’ incident certainly fired up the Warrington wonderkid.
He eventually went onto throw six 180s with an average of 97.05 to comfortably see off the ‘Polish Eagle’. The crucial moment was taking out 65 with tops to break Ratajski’s throw for the first time to go 5-3 in front.
Littler will now face Damon Heta on Sunday afternoon, exactly seven days after the Aussie knocked him out of the UK Open in an epic encounter.
He added: “That’s what people say revenge is a thing. But I just get on with the next game and beat what’s in front of me.”
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Just a week ago, Mervyn King complained to the referee about Ratajski’s conduct in their clash at the UK Open.
Michael van Gerwen crashed out of the Belgian event with further shoulder issues.
He lost 6-4 to Peter Wright who revealed afterwards: “Obviously Michael has still got a shoulder injury. I was feeling sorry for him.
“He’s got an injury and didn’t do much practice in the backroom. I thought I’ve got a chance and I nearly threw it away.
“Normally you need over a ton average to beat Michael but hopefully he gets better.”