"Littler was definitely beatable, but he always is" - Mike De Decker self-critical after lacklustre defence to World Grand Prix title

While there is no shame in being beaten by Luke Littler, it was the performance the reigning World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker produced that bugged him, describing his 3-0 loss against the world champion as 'disappointing' while believing he was beatable on the night.

The Belgian won just two legs against the 18-year-old, regularly on the backfoot after consistently struggling to pin the opening double. Even the two legs he won Littler missed opportunities of his own to take the leg as he cruised to a simple victory, ending with a show-stopping 170 checkout, which De Decker knew he was going to take out.

"I knew Littler's 170 was going to go in," De Decker said. "You just felt it. Good on him, huh? It was just a bad match for me otherwise. He wasn't great either, but it just didn't fly. Those doubles just wouldn't work. When you do that with this format (double in, double out, ed.) , it becomes difficult. That I started shaking my head early on? Yeah, I just felt like it wasn't working. I didn't give up, you know, but you can feel it in your gut that it wasn't your night. It wasn't that I missed those doubles right at the wire, I was miles away. That's not normal."

While averages should be slightly overlooked in this format, the 74.22 average De Decker boasted was far off the levels he and darts fans know he is capable of. His scoring was ok throughout, but it was his woes on the outer ring which cost him the chance to defend his title. While he was nowhere near his best, he admitted Littler was also off the pace, as he reacted to him describing the match as boring.

"I was incredibly disappointed. Look at my average. After the second set, I saw on the screen that I'd thrown 8 out of 42 doubles or something," De Decker said. "Yeah, it doesn't matter who you're playing against. That way, you'll have problems against anyone. So Littler was definitely beatable, but he always is. You just have to see that you're better than him. If he throws 106, you have to throw 110. If he throws 110, you have to throw 115. Simple. This time it was 91. Everyone's always beatable, sometimes it's just harder than others. That he found the match 'boring'? Well, if that's what he thinks... Good for him. That's his opinion."

De Decker highlighted on issues with his darts as a reason for his slight downturn in form, as he continues to tinker with them to find the ultimate setup.

"It all comes down to confidence, in the equipment," he said. "I've already talked to Mission about looking at something else. Sometimes it works, but other times it doesn't. The feeling isn't there either, and that's very frustrating. Knowing where you came from and now struggling so much. It's purely down to the equipment, and then you start trying all sorts of things, which isn't the intention. Last year I picked up my darts and started throwing, now I'm working on all sorts of things."

While the 2025 World Grand Prix may not have gone his way, the world number 20 has a lot to be grateful for. He reminisced on his trip to Australia and New Zealand in his World Series of Darts debut, while keeping a keen eye out for the remaining majors this year, culminating with the highly anticipated World Championships.

"It changed my life, you know. I would have liked to perform a bit better this year. Hopefully, I can still qualify for the Grand Slam with a run, otherwise I'll focus on the other majors: the European Championships, PC Finals, and the World Championships. I hope things will pick up there again, but something has to change. My highlights of the past few months? Visiting Australia and New Zealand with Ludo, my best friend. Not many people can say they spent two weeks there. Thanks to my performance, I was also able to buy my own house, which is something you don't forget quickly. That there will be less attention now? True, and I don't mind that so much."