Luke Littler was drenched by beaten finalist Mike De Decker after their Belgian Darts Open showdown on Sunday evening. Fans in Wieze could hardly have hoped for a better final match-up, with home favourite and reigning World Grand Prix champion De Decker pitted against world champion and teenage prodigy Littler.
With nine straight wins leading up to the tournament, including a nightly victory at Premier League Darts in Brighton and an overall triumph at the UK Open last weekend, Littler was widely expected to enjoy another deep run in Belgium. The 18-year-old added five more match wins to his streak, making light work of James Wade in the semi-finals before toppling De Decker 8-5 in the final.
If Littler’s run was seen as inevitable, De Decker’s was the complete opposite. The 29-year-old was in torrid form going into the tournament, but he turned it on in front of his home fans with big wins against Gerwyn Price and Ross Smith before coming unstuck against ‘The Nuke’.
In the final, Littler’s 102.87 average put him miles ahead of De Decker on 92.25. And the Belgian could not find the doubling to make up for it, leaving Littler with another £30,000 in prize money and landing him yet another title.
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