Luke Littler 'produced distress signal' after losing to Luke Humphries in final of Players Championship
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A body language expert has claimed Luke Littler produced a classic 'distress signal' during his defeat to Luke Humphries in the final of the Players Championship on Sunday night.
The teenager was beaten 11-7 by his fierce rival, though did manage to walk away with a nice £60,000 in prize money.
After the match, Littler spoke to ITV and admitted that he found the defeat 'tough'.
He also rued missed opportunities, claiming he could have been '5-0 up' at one point as his hopes of glory went up in smoke.
Luke Littler produced a classic 'distress signal' during his post-match interview after losing to Luke Humphries in the final of the Players Championship
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But body language expert Darren Stanton, speaking to OLBG, has expressed a belief the talented teenager looked 'very nervous' after the clash.
And he says the fact the youngster kept touching his head was a 'classic distress signal' that showed his discomfort.
“Littler was very nervous," he said.
"He kept touching the top of his head. That’s a classic distress signal as in feeling awkward or uncomfortable in a situation, even though he was being given praise.
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“He was sweating a lot, which obviously isn’t helped by the lights, but essentially the repeated looks down and the hand-to-mouth gestures, and touching the back and top of his head, indicates a combination of stress, anxiety and a bit of being pissed off, to be blunt.
“However, I think Littler can pull it back.”
After the match, Humphries insisted that Littler was the best player on the planet right now - rather than himself.
"I'd love to be up here hitting 105 averages like Luke is all the time but he's a different calibre," admitted the 29-year-old.
"He's probably the best player in the world right now. If you go by stats, he's easily the best player in the world. But there's something about me that never gives up.
"As much as he is the best, I know I can beat him, he knows he can beat me."
And Stanton claims Humphries was being 'genuine' with his assessment, as his body language shows.
“Luke Humphries is pretty consistent in his body language," he continued.
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“We aren’t seeing any signs of increased blinking.
"We aren’t seeing any, what we call, barbotage shoulder shrugs. There’s no fake smiles.
“He has multiple anchor points, so sometimes people will shift their body weight into a different posture when they’re being deceptive or not genuine.
Luke Littler was dubbed the 'best player in the world' by Luke Humphries despite the teenager losing the final of the Players Championship
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“I think for the most part he was being pretty genuine here when he said he thinks Luke Littler is probably the best in the world.
“There was a little bit of bravado in there but at the end of the day he has won past and everyone is competitive so there is a little bit of cockiness in there.
“A bit tongue-in-cheek. Nothing of a truly negative nature.”
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