Luke Littler was forced to change his water bottle at last year’s Belgian Darts Open due to his opponent’s mind games.
The Nuke made his PDC European Tour debut at the event in Wieze in March 2024.
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After beating Jose de Sousa in his opening match, Littler faced Krzysztof Ratajski in the second round.
Both players exchanged legs during the early stages, with the teenager leading 2-1 at the start of the fourth leg.
However, it was at that point that Ratajski turned to mind games in a bid to unsettle his opponent.
During one of Littler’s visits to the oche, the Polish player could be seen taking a sip of water from the Nuke’s table.
His action did not go unnoticed, though, with Littler removing the bottle from his table after collecting his darts from the board.
He then shook his head as he replaced it with a fresh bottle before continuing the match.
Ratajski went on to win the leg to level the score at 2-2 in the first to six encounter.
His antics failed to put Littler off his game, though, as he won four of the next five legs to seal a 6-3 victory.
Following the match, the then 17-year-old gave his thoughts on Ratajski’s apparent mind games.
Littler explained: “I saw him drink a bit of my water. I saw him do it again so I just put it on the floor.
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“Trying to get to me. If he is then fair enough, I’m just glad to get the win.”
After beating Ratajski, the darts sensation went on to beat Damon Heta, Jermaine Wattimena and Ricardo Pietreczko to reach the final.
He then saw off Rob Cross 8-7 in the final to claim his first European Tour title on debut.
Littler has since added two more Euro Tour crowns to his trophy cabinet.
Those wins include a successful defence of his Belgian Darts Open victory earlier this year.
Now 18, the world number two became the sport’s youngest-ever world champion at Alexandra Palace in January.
He followed that win up by making history in this season’s Premier League by claiming six nightly wins.
Littler will face Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals on play-offs night at the O2 Arena in London on Thursday.
