Luke Littler has admitted his showdown with Damon Heta was a 'great game', with the 17-year-old showing a touch of class by congratulating his rival.
Littler sparked controversy during his 10-8 defeat on Sunday, with the teenager appearing to turn his back on Heta after he was sent crashing out of the competition in the quarter-finals.
Darts fans took to social media to dub the youngster a 'bad loser', with some also calling on Littler to 'improve his attitude'.
The incident took place mere weeks after Littler had left Michael van Gerwen hanging following a defeat in their Premier League clash.
Luke Littler seemed to turn his back on Damon Heta after losing at the UK Open on Sunday
ITV
But Littler has now shown a touch of class by praising Heta, admitting his opponent played a 'great game'.
He wrote on Instagram: "Uk Open disappointed to not make it past the quarters but was a great game @damon.heta180.
"Enjoying my darts and just grateful for everything."
Littler is currently in a relationship with 22-year-old Eloise Milburn, who is an amateur darts player herself.
And Eloise commented on her boyfriend's post, saying: "Always amazing us all!"
Darts fans did, however, flood to the comments to tell Littler to be 'humble' after he turned his back on Heta.
"Good Game but you have to learn to lose," said one user.
A second said: "Be humble in defeat Luke. Shake hands and sulk later."
A third stated: "Turning your back because you lost, doesn’t look great Luke."
And a fourth Instagram user stated: "Stay humble. Turning your back isn't a good look. You do it all the time. Heta had to come to you, waited and initiated the hand shake. Looks bad."
Many others were quick to defend Littler, however.
"All life coaches on this post telling him how he should react. Have a day off," said one supporter.
A second backed Littler by saying: "Check out the pile on for the kid. He lost. He was disappointed.
"Christ seasoned pros three times his age have behaved far worse in defeat. Have a day off."
And a third said: "Dont listen to the haters. Next one is yours Nuke. Let’s goooo!"
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Meanwhile, Heta was unable to win the UK Open in Maidenhead with the 36-year-old losing to eventual champion Dimitri van den Bergh.
Speaking after his win over Littler, however, the Australian admitted he was delighted with his performance.
"I was up for it, sometimes I feel like that in my practice as well so I know the feeling," he said.
"To come up against Luke Littler, who has taken the media by storm and darts by storm - I love him to bits and it's a massive boost to darts.
"I know what I'm up against with these Premier League players, these are guys I need to beat and if I keep doing this regularly, who knows, maybe I'll be a top player one day!"
Luke Littler has praised Damon Heta after losing to the Australian at the UK Open on Sunday
GETTY
Van den Bergh beat Luke Humphries in the final to secure glory.
He reacted to his win by saying: "Luke showed again why he is a World Champion.
“I lost my composure. I knew Luke wasn’t going to make it easy, but you have to dig deep, and all of a sudden it turned around.
“My Grandad passed away two years ago, and that’s my first major win since then, so it’s a really special moment for me.”
