''It's inappropriate and not very respectful'' - Luke Littler receives criticism after controversial Mike de Decker comments

Luke Littler may be rewriting the record books at an unprecedented rate, but his post-match comments following victory over Mike De Decker at the World Grand Prix have sparked controversy.

The 18-year-old world champion described his routine win over the Belgian as “a bit boring” – a remark that didn’t sit well with everyone.

Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast, Vincent van der Voort was quick to criticise The Nuke’s comments. “That’s just a tap on the chin you give someone like De Decker,” Van der Voort said. “You don’t have to say that. It’s inappropriate and not very respectful.”

Littler had produced a near-faultless display in Leicester, even appearing to toy with his opponent at times – notably by aiming straight for the bullseye on 50 and finishing 91 via bull, 1, and tops. “De Decker seemed to be done with Littler for a while,” noted presenter Damian Vlottes.

Van der Voort believes the Belgian deserved more credit. “At the Grand Slam, Littler actually needed the crowd to beat De Decker,” he pointed out. “And then to make comments like that about someone who won a tournament just last year – putting him down like that, I don’t like it. But at the same time, it adds a bit of spice. Hopefully De Decker will take that personally and go into their next match with fire in his belly.”

Littler went on to succeed De Decker as World Grand Prix champion, defeating Luke Humphries 6–1 in a dominant final performance to add yet another major title to his growing collection. Even so, Van der Voort was full of praise for Littler’s brilliance. “There’s no shame in De Decker losing heavily to Littler,” he said. “He’s just unbelievably good right now.”

But Littler wasn’t the only young star grabbing headlines this week. Beau Greaves, just 21, made history by winning her first PDC Tour Card and qualifying for the final of the Junior World Championship – where she had already beaten none other than Littler himself in the semi-finals.

“That really shows how good she is,” said Van der Voort. “It’s great to see her make it to a Tour Card – that alone says a lot. She’s pushing players like Littler and Humphries to the limit and even beating them. She’s now among the best 128 players in the world. At the last UK Open she destroyed everyone and only just lost to Humphries. It’ll be interesting to see what she does now – will she play the PDC World Championship or stay with the WDF? She was also eligible for all the Pro Tours this year but barely played.”

Greaves’ talent has been obvious for years. After dominating the women’s circuit and winning countless titles, she further underlined her credentials earlier this year with a strong showing against Humphries at the UK Open.

According to Vlottes, Greaves’ move to the PDC feels inevitable. “For the WDF, it’s the death knell losing such a great player,” he said. Van der Voort believes she could soon mix it with the elite. “She has the potential to become the first woman ever to reach the top 64 or even top 32 in the world,” he predicted. “It depends how the media treats it. If there’s hype around her like there was with Fallon Sherrock and Luke Littler, the PDC will go all-in and she’ll get opportunities. But if it doesn’t catch fire, she won’t get that backing. That’s just how it works.”