Littler's petulant behaviour towards Gian van Veen during his 6-5 defeat in Manchester drew huge backlash from the majority on social media, and he made the situation even worse for himself with a childish Instagram post.
Van Veen ended up reaching the final after stopping the Nuke's six-match winning streak in the competition before losing 6-2 to an unstoppable Gerwyn Price.
The Welshman was unrelenting in the scoring phase and nerveless on the outer ring, as he averaged an eye-watering 107.63 across his three matches and a remarkable 72 per cent on the checkouts.
Price, indeed, claimed his second nightly win of 2026 in some style to move two points behind Littler at the top of the table and put himself in the driving seat to reach Finals Night in May.
Price can continue to dominate in Brighton
Littler, of course, is the favourite to bounce back in Brighton and record his fourth nightly win of the 2026 Premier League.
That outcome wouldn't be surprising to anyone, as the 19-year-old has recorded a 105-plus average in eight of his 17 matches, proving just how relentless he is in the scoring phase.
But even though the Nuke holds that record, along with the most 180s and the highest tournament average, Price's chance of registering a second successive nightly win shouldn't be discounted.
The Iceman was unstoppable in Manchester, producing the most impressive performance of the tournament so far with three successive 6-2 victories over Luke Humphries, Stephen Bunting and Van Veen.
Price gave his opponents no chance by combining world-class treble hitting and razor-sharp finishing, not only exceeding an average of 112 in his semi-final demolition of Bunting, but also missing just seven darts at double in 24 legs of darts.
The 41-year-old will be aiming to continue such dominance at the Brighton Centre, and Josh Rock could be the first victim of his brilliance in the quarter-final.
Following a seven-match winless start in the competition, Rock has avoided unwanted history with back-to-back victories over Jonny Clayton, moving him onto four points.
The Northern Irishman recorded a ton-plus average against Clayton in Manchester, and over 50 per cent on the doubles in a 6-4 triumph, before wasteful finishing (37.5 per cent) cost him in a 6-3 defeat to Van Veen.
Still waiting to reach his first nightly final in the Premier League, Rock will be determined to break his duck sooner rather than later. However, an in-form Price could prove too hot to handle, and victory for the Welshman would see him play either Humphries or Clayton in the semi-final.
Humphries feeling the Premier League heat
While Price is nailed-on to cement his position in the top four, Humphries has ground to make up in pursuit of the play-offs.
Cool Hand's defeat against the world No. 8 in Manchester leaves him trailing fourth-place Michael van Gerwen by two points ahead of the visit to Brighton.
Littler is shocked by Humphries position in the table, and even though he's backed him to reach Finals Night at London's O2 Arena, there are signs that he's feeling the heat.
Humphries has recorded the third-worst doubling rate across the past three weeks (35.29 per cent), while Bunting, Littler and Price have all averaged more than him in the same period.
The reigning Premier League champion opens up night 10 with a quarter-final clash against Clayton, presenting arguably a great chance to add at least two more points on the board.
Clayton has hit a rough patch following back-to-back defeats against Rock, and even though he remains joint-second, the Welshman's performance levels have dropped significantly since winning night six in Nottingham.
The Ferret is one of just three players with an average below 100 in the last three weeks, and perhaps more alarmingly, has the worst checkout percentage of anyone in the competition (28.57 per cent).
A continuation of that trend in Brighton could see the world No. 5 suffer his fourth successive defeat in the tournament, while boosting Humphries' chance of making the top four.