LITTLER SURVIVES WORLD MASTERS SCARE

LUKE LITTLER admits fans may already be “getting bored” of seeing him win after surviving a World Masters scare.

World No.1 Littler was pushed to the brink by Mike De Decker before scraping through a nerve-shredding 3-2 victory in Milton Keynes. 

The teen sensation was staring down the barrel of a shock exit as De Decker surged into a 2-1 lead and even missed a match dart.

But Littler held his nerve to mount a dramatic fightback, seeing off the Belgian to set up a last-16 showdown with Ross Smith. 

Littler then made a candid admission, suggesting some spectators may already be growing weary of his dominance, having received a mixed reception at Arena MK.

He said: “I think in my head now people want to see new winners. People are getting bored of me, Luke [Humphries] and Gian [van Veen] winning. 

“Obviously, people can pick who they want to support or who they want to boo. 

“Like I said tonight, I am not going to do anything during the game or after it. I’m just going to play my darts. 

“You have seen it with Wayne Rooney — that clip at the World Cup, ‘nice to see your fans boo you.’ 

“I saw that on my TikTok literally a few hours after my Rob Cross game [at the World Championship]. 

“It’s pretty crazy. Like I said, I have to learn from the Worlds and just not react.” 

Littler claimed the opening set, but De Decker hit back by levelling the match with a 121 checkout on the bullseye. 

Former World Grand Prix champ De Decker appeared to have Littler on the ropes after firing in four straight legs to surge 2-1 ahead. 

De Decker then had match dart in hand, but his miss at double 11 proved costly as Littler punished him immediately with a crisp double 16 to stay alive. 

Littler then needed 30 to complete the comeback and saw off De Decker with double five. 

The Warrington whizkid is just two titles away from completing the full set of premier event victories, needing only the World Masters and the European Championship.

Image by Taylor Lanning.