DE DECKER BLASTS SOCIAL MEDIA CRITICS AHEAD OF LITTLER CLASH
15/08/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
MIKE DE DECKER blasted social media “haters” after setting up a mouthwatering clash with Luke Littler in the quarter-finals at the New Zealand Masters.
‘The Real Deal’ secured an impressive 6-1 victory over Gordon Mathers in Auckland with a 94.40 average and even hit a clinical 150 checkout on his way to the win.
World No. 19 De Decker reached the final of the Australian Darts Masters last week.
But De Decker’s place at the World Series events had come under scrutiny following a challenging few months on the oche since his World Grand Prix triumph.
Belgian thrower De Decker admitted the online abuse from trolls can be harsh on everyone in the sport but he isn’t letting it derail his focus.
He said: “When I reached the final and I lost to Luke [Littler] I opened up social media and I didn’t see one bad comment.
“I was thinking ‘where are all the haters now?’
“Everyone is slagging you off when you have a bad performance and forgetting what you’ve done before.
“It’s not only with me but it is with everyone. They have been slagging off Luke Humphries as well.
“Look at what he’s done the last two years.
“So, it was a big confidence boost to reach the finals and shutting them up to be honest.”
The 29-year-old was dumped out at the first hurdle in the World Cup and exited the Matchplay in round two which led to a bombardment of “cruel” messages from online trolls.
He added: “Social media is a hard world to live in.
“After the World Cup as well when me and Dimitri [Van den Bergh] lost in the group stages, social media was a really tough place to be on.
“It’s how you cope with it, but some reactions and messages are just too cruel to be left out.
“But I reached the final last week and I’m through to the quarter-final this week.”
Images by Taylor Lanning.
