Luke Littler beats Mike De Decker to win Australian Darts Masters
By Carl Markham, PA
World champion Luke Littler added the Australian Darts Masters to his growing list of titles with a 8-4 victory over Mike De Decker in the final.
A year after finishing runner-up following an 8-1 humbling by Gerwyn Price, the reigning World Matchplay and Premier League champion had too much for the Belgian debutant.
Even when the 18-year-old incredibly missed six attempts at double-16 with the score at 6-3 it made little difference to the overall outcome.
“It feels very good. It’s another one I can tick off,” Littler told ITV X after winning a World Series event for the first time in six attempts this year.
“I played very well tonight; I didn’t play so well last night but tonight is when it really matters.
“It’s not gone to plan this year in the World Series but there are plenty of opportunities to win and I’ve finally picked one up tonight.”
Littler swept aside home favourite Damon Heta 6-3 in the last eight and top seed Stephen Bunting 7-4 in the semis.
“He needs to retire because it’s not fun any more,” De Decker joked after the defeat.