Luke Littler proved too much for Mike De Decker in the final of the Belgian Darts Open three days after winning the nightly Premier League bonus in Brighton and a week on from his UK Open triumph
Luke Littler lifted his third trophy in eight days to land his 13th PDC title in 14 months.
The 18-year-old world champion beat Mike De Decker, on his own turf, to claim back-to-back Belgian Darts Open crowns with an 8-5 win in Wieze.
Belgians dip their chips in mayonnaise, but De Decker was always playing ketchup once Littler had surged into a 6-3 lead and Luke the Nuke took the tickertape with a 102.87 average.
After his maiden UK Open triumph in Minehead and a £10,000 nightly winner’s bonus in the Premier League at Brighton on Thursday night, the former boy wonder is in the form of his life.
Although the World Grand Prix champion shared a dozen 180s with Littler, the Warrington wizard’s 53 per cent strike rate on the doubles proved decisive.
Defending his first European Tour title from 12 months ago, when he decorated his 8-7 win against Rob Cross in the final with a nine-darter, Littler proved to be James Wade’s nemesis again.
Seven days after their one-sided UK Open final, the Machine fared little better this time, exiting the competition 7-3 in the semis.
Littler will once again be in action in the Premier League on Thursday when the darting roadshow rolls into Nottingham.
And the Nuke will bid to add a perfect leg to his repertoire after Luke Humphries and Rob Cross each won a set of golden arrows worth £30,000 for their nine-dart efforts in Brighton.
“I saw the first one but missed the second,” Littler said of his rivals’ efforts. “My dad was showing me what happened on the phone because I think Sky went down for the first one and then whilst we were looking at it, there was beer chucked everywhere.
“We thought, ‘That cannot be just a 170, it has got to be a nine-darter’ – and then the replay came on and we missed it.
“There are plenty more weeks left to try to get my hands on those gold darts. How heavy are they? I might use them one night! Maybe I can.”
