Luke Littler is set to face Mike De Decker at the World Masters, renewing a rivalry that has produced plenty of tension and talking points in recent months.
The teenage sensation, known as The Nuke, heads into Friday’s first-round clash in Milton Keynes full of confidence. The 19-year-old double world champion holds a perfect 7-0 record over De Decker, having never lost to the Belgian in their meetings so far.
That run includes their most recent encounter at the World Grand Prix in October, where Littler cruised to a 3-0 win. Afterwards, however, Littler raised eyebrows by describing the match as “a bit boring” — a remark that did not sit well with former professional Vincent van der Voort.
Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast, Van der Voort criticised Littler’s tone, saying:
“That’s just a tap on the chin you give someone like De Decker. You don’t have to say that. It’s inappropriate and not very respectful.”
He added that Littler’s comments were unfair given De Decker’s pedigree, particularly after winning a title last year.
“At the Grand Slam, Littler actually needed the crowd to beat De Decker,” Van der Voort continued. “And then to make comments like that about someone who’s achieved something — putting him down like that — I don’t like it.
“But at the same time, it adds spice. Hopefully De Decker takes it personally and comes into the next match with fire in his belly.”
Whether Littler’s words will fuel De Decker’s motivation remains to be seen, but their history suggests this matchup could be more heated than the head-to-head record implies.
Almost a year before their World Grand Prix meeting, De Decker pushed Littler to the limit in a dramatic Grand Slam of Darts clash, losing a heartbreaking 10-9 thriller. After that match, De Decker hit out at the crowd for jeering him during key moments and expressed frustration with the PDC’s lack of action.
“I asked caller Kirk Bevin to address the crowd, but he wouldn’t even do that,” De Decker told Viaplay. “Why is he even there then?”
He also dismissed the idea of lodging an official complaint.
“The PDC will just say they’ll look into it, and then that’s it. It’s sad, but that’s how it works.”
The World Masters is taking place at Arena MK, with the semi-finals and final scheduled for Sunday, February 1. The champion will walk away with £100,000 from the tournament’s £500,000 prize fund.
Elsewhere in the draw, second seed Luke Humphries is preparing to face Dave Chisnall, while third seed Gian van Veen has already defeated Ryan Joyce to set up a second-round showdown with Nathan Aspinall.
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