Latest news with #DeDecker
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
‘Shutting them up' – Darts star blasts social media ‘haters' after losing to Luke Littler in New Zealand Masters final
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) MIKE DE DECKER blasted social media 'haters' during the New Zealand Masters. The World No.19 reached the final of the Australian Darts Masters last week before losing out to Luke Littler in Auckland. 2 Mike De Decker has endured a difficult few months Credit: Getty 2 De Decker congratulates Luke Littler after their Australian Darts Masters clash Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 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. The Belgian thrower 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 in Australia 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.' BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 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.'
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘Shutting them up' – Darts star blasts social media ‘haters' after losing to Luke Littler in New Zealand Masters final
De Decker and a darts rival were subjected to brutal trolling WHAT THE DECK 'Shutting them up' – Darts star blasts social media 'haters' after losing to Luke Littler in New Zealand Masters final MIKE DE DECKER blasted social media 'haters' during the New Zealand Masters. The World No.19 reached the final of the Australian Darts Masters last week before losing out to Luke Littler in Auckland. 2 Mike De Decker has endured a difficult few months Credit: Getty 2 De Decker congratulates Luke Littler after their Australian Darts Masters clash Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Advertisement 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. The Belgian thrower 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 in Australia 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?' Advertisement '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.' Advertisement BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 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.' Advertisement
Irish Independent
09-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Luke Littler closing in on world No.1 ranking as he boosts stunning prize money haul with another big title
Littler arrived in Australia fresh from lifting the World Matchplay title a fortnight ago, and the world champion maintained his winning run to triumph in Wollongong. The win moved world No.2 Littler closer to Luke Humphries in the PDC rankings and he is now eyeing up a chance to take over as the top ranked player in the next few months. Littler had prize money of £1,500,500 prior to this event in Australia, with Humphries holding on to the No.1 ranking with £1,797,750 in his prize pot from rankings tournaments over the last two years. This latest win secured Littler another £30,000 cash windfall and he will be eyeing up more prize money in the second leg of the World Series' Oceanic double-header on August 15-16, as the sport's biggest names battle it out for the SkyCity New Zealand Darts Masters title. The Warrington wonderkid survived a major scare in his opening round tie on Friday, edging out New Zealand's number one Haupai Puha in a last-leg decider. However, normal service was resumed on Finals Day at the WIN Entertainment Centre, as Littler overcame Damon Heta, Stephen Bunting and De Decker to secure his first World Series crown of 2025. 'It feels great,' reflected Littler, after avenging his defeat to Gerwyn Price in last year's final. 'I didn't play that well last night, but I played very well tonight when it really mattered. 'Obviously it hadn't gone to plan on the World Series circuit this year, but there's plenty of opportunities to win and I've finally picked up that trophy tonight. 'I cannot wait for Auckland now. We'll have a few days off, and then it's off to New Zealand we go.' Littler kicked off Saturday's play with an impressive 6-3 success against Australian number one Heta, reeling off three straight legs to prevail with a 102 average. ADVERTISEMENT The World Champion also made a sprint for the finish in his semi-final showdown against Stephen Bunting, producing a crucial 121 finish in the penultimate leg of his 7-4 victory. De Decker defied a strong start from Littler to level at two apiece in Saturday's showpiece, but the teenage superstar regained control with two magnificent legs. The world number two followed up a sparkling 143 checkout with an 11-darter to lead 4-2, although De Decker remained in touch to reduce the arrears to 6-4. However, Littler responded with a brilliant 12-dart hold to move to the brink of victory at 7-4, before rounding off a 14-dart break to cap off a dominant campaign Down Under. Despite missing out on the title, De Decker impressed on his World Series of Darts debut, defeating Luke Humphries and Chris Dobey on Finals Day. The World Grand Prix champion averaged over 103 to whitewash world number one Humphries in the quarter-finals, taking out a stunning 167 checkout along the way. The Belgian number one then powered past Dobey in the semi-finals, reeling off four consecutive legs from 4-3 down to complete an impressive comeback. 'I'm happy to get to the final, and I showed I'm still able to play my A-game,' reflected De Decker. 'There's been a lot of ups and downs this year, so reaching the final this weekend is a big confidence boost.' Dobey also broke new ground in Wollongong, winning through a high-quality tie against reigning champion Price to progress to his first World Series semi-final. The evening's other quarter-final clash saw Bunting whitewash Northern Ireland's World Cup champion Josh Rock, who had averaged 108 in Friday's first round. Bunting also averaged 102 in defeat against Littler, although the Liverpudlian remains top of the World Series rankings heading into next weekend's event in Auckland. 2025 KenoGO Australian Darts Masters Quarter-Finals Stephen Bunting 6-0 Josh Rock Luke Littler 6-3 Damon Heta Chris Dobey 6-4 Gerwyn Price Mike De Decker 6-0 Luke Humphries Semi-Finals Luke Littler 7-4 Stephen Bunting Mike De Decker 7-4 Chris Dobey Final Luke Littler 8-4 Mike De Decker
Daily Record
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Chilling and disgusting abuse aimed at World Grand Prix darts champion as he goes public over sickening taunts
Belgian star latest top star to be hit by keyboard grief Mike De Decker has been subjected to chilling and disgusting social-media abuse following a defeat at the Players Championship. The Belgian star became the latest in a line of darts and sporting stars to be hit by unacceptable messages on various online platforms. In an article in it is written that De Decker shared some of the posts with some appeared to be linking to betting as he responded 'bye bye' to one which stated they have to kill themselves after losing 20k. Another wrote: You're a fraudster, I hope some (one) kills you, you don't deserve to be on earth. In another post, De Decker was subjected to an individual reportedly wishing cancer on him after the loss to German Dominik Gruellich. The World Grand Prix champion is the latest in a line of stars who have been upset at comments which have rained upon them. Premier League stars spoke openly about abuse and grief which was dished out to them during the campaign. Ironically, it was the exclusion of individuals such as De Deck and the inclusion of Nathan Aspinall and Gerwyn Price in the eight-man showpiece that brought a raft of stuck towards the Stockport slinger. He later reflected on the difficulties of the sniping and said: 'I'm not going to lie, it was s**t, it was hard, it was horrific, I came off social media because of the abuse I was getting. I'm not being exaggerated here, but it ruined my life for a month, not just my life, my family's, it was horrific. 'But I'm a professional sportsman, you've got to deal with it and I put things in place to deal with that. I think me and Gezzy have both received the same treatment and we've used it to our advantage.' World No.1 Luke Humphries is another who hit at social-media stick after facing a backlash earlier for honest opinions. He said: 'Considering the comments, people not understanding what I meant, [this] will be the last time I ever confess my real feelings to the public. Everything I ever say or do just never seems to be good enough for anybody. As long as no-one complains when we all give the same answers in interviews like robots and not our true feelings. Then everyone I guess will be happy, or as usual will still find a way to moan at us.' Latvian Madars Razma also pleaded for it to stop as he said on Facebook: 'I never thought that I would have to do this, but keyboard warriors keep commenting my performance and results in darts and it really kills. I know there always will be some idiots, but I hope that after this, someone will stop doing it. 'I know that in the last few months I have been far from the performance I can and I want to show. But I have my own reasons why I don't respond to your messages and decline all interviews. Just a few days before the start of the season uninvited guests came to my family's new house.'
BBC News
09-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Littler beats De Decker to defend Belgian title
World champion Luke Littler denied local favourite Mike de Decker to defend his title at the Belgian won last year's event while making his European Tour debut in Wieze, and the 18-year-old made it back-to-back wins with an 8-5 triumph over De Decker in the world number two saw off Luke Woodhouse (6-4) and Dave Chisnall (6-4) on Sunday before beating 14th seed James Wade (7-3) in the set up a meeting with world number 21 De Decker, who had made a thrilling run to the final at his home 29-year-old Belgian had dumped out world number one Luke Humphries in the second round on Saturday, and continued that form by beating Martin Schindler (6-3) and former world champion Gerwyn Price (6-4) on Decker came back from 6-4 down to edge a 7-6 win over Ross Smith in the semi-finals and fell 3-1 down against teenager managed to stay clear, going into a 7-3 lead, and although De Decker briefly threatened another fightback, Littler ultimately proved too averaging 94.36 in Saturday's second-round win over Ryan Searle, Littler topped 100 in all four of Sunday's wins, with 102.87 in the final compared to De Decker's checkout rate was also far greater as he registered 53.33% compared to 38.46% from De Decker.
