Luke Littler made a tactical tweak which powered him to a remarkable victory over Mike De Decker at the Grand Slam of Darts. The Nuke survived an almighty scare to earn a dramatic 10-9 victory and maintain his hopes of winning yet another title.
He started well by claiming the first two legs before De Decker turned on the style to pull ahead and give his teenage opponent a mountain to climb.
The underdog was leading 8-4 at one stage and looked set to spring a surprise before Littler found form and battled back. He won six of the final seven legs, taking out treble 18 and double 16 to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the decider.
In his post-match interview on Sky Sports, which was barely audible with the crowd whipped up into a frenzy, Littler revealed that he slowed down his play in an attempt to regain control of the contest.
“Early on, I was at my normal pace but towards the end I was taking that little one-second delay and then releasing it,” he said. “That helped me.”
Asked if he enjoyed the match, Littler replied: “I don’t know! I’ve got to feel for Mike. I didn’t think I was in the game but I can always step it up a gear. As soon as he set up the 170, I just thought: ‘You have to take this’.”
The 17-year-old admitted that he briefly lost hope of victory before rediscovering his form and doing what needed to be done.
“Coming onto the stage, no, but I know I’ve got it in me,” he said. “I just can’t believe it. These guys [in the crowd] were amazing tonight and I’ve got to feel for Mike.”
Sky Sports pundit Mark Webster was full of praise for the way Littler composed himself and performed under pressure to book his place in the quarter-finals.
“He was so calm, particularly in the last leg,” said Webster. “He’s a cool, calm character and he’s got it. He can get involved in scraps, he can dominate. He showed he’s the complete package.
“It’s agonising for Mike. Forget the match dart, anyone can miss the bullseye. It was the fact he had a healthy lead. He missed doubles towards the end, that will be tough for him to take.
“He knows he played well, he put himself in a position to win and he looked the part. After a few days he will look back and acknowledge he played well, but he missed a big opportunity tonight.”