Luke Littler fights back to edge out Mike De Decker at Grand Slam of Darts
The Belgian had recovered from a slow start to forge 8-4 ahead.
Luke Littler fought back to win six of the last seven legs and edge out Mike De Decker to book his place in the Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finals.
Littler had been in fine form in Wolverhampton, coasting through his opening group, but Belgian De Decker recovered from a slow start to forge 8-4 ahead.
After De Decker then moved one away at 9-8, but Littler – who had earlier been on a nine-dart finish, but missed a treble with his seventh throw – dug in again to force a deciding leg.
With World Grand Prix champion De Decker sat on 170, Littler closed out 86 to seal a memorable comeback win.
“I don’t know if I enjoyed that. I’ve got to feel for Mike,” Littler said on Sky Sports.
“I didn’t think I was in the game, but I know I can always switch that gear.
“Coming onto the stage (for the last session), I didn’t think I could overturn the deficit. I just cannot believe it.”
Littler will face Jermaine Wattimena for a place in the semi-finals after the Dutchman fought back to beat Dimitri van den Bergh in a last-leg decider – with both men having missed match darts.
UK Open champion Van den Bergh had surged into a 4-0 lead in the opening match of the night at WV Active Aldersley.
Dutchman Wattimena – who qualified top of Group E – rallied to level and edged in front for the first time at 6-5.
With the legs then locked at 9-9, Van den Bergh contrived to miss eight match darts – including three at double four – which saw Wattimena back in to take out double eight and book his spot in the quarter-finals.
Gian van Veen ended the run of Ryan Joyce with a convincing 10-2 win.
Joyce had beaten Michael van Gerwen to qualify from Group G, but found the going tough against van Veen, who continued his impressive form in Wolverhampton with a match average of 106 and throwing seven maximums.
In Thursday’s late match, two-time Grand Slam finalist Gary Anderson saw off Stephen Bunting 10-6.
Anderson – who secured top spot in Group G with victories over Joyce, Van Gerwen and Noa-Lynn van Leuven – had looked on course for a comfortable win after opening up an 8-2 lead.
However, Masters champion Bunting rallied to claw the deficit back to 8-5 before a magnificent 138 checkout put Anderson on the cusp.
After Anderson, a two-time former PDC world champion, missed a couple of match darts, Bunting pulled another leg back before the Scot, in his 17th Grand Slam appearance, took out 103 to make the last eight where he will play Van Veen.
