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Belgian Mike De Decker held off a fightback from defending champion Luke Humphries to win the World Grand Prix final 6-4 in Leicester and claim his first major title.
De Decker – the first Belgian to reach a World Grand Prix final after beating compatriot Dimitri Van den Bergh in the semis – surged into a 4-1 lead before the world number one rallied to level the match.
But the 28-year-old held his nerve in the double-to-start contest, winning the next two sets to clinch the title.
The pair traded the opening two sets, which both went to deciding legs, before De Decker broke clear.
He claimed set three without Humphries getting a leg on the board.
Humphries found himself needing to break to save the fourth set but struggled to get off on a double as De Decker took out a magnificent 154 finish to open up a 3-1 lead as the players went into the interval.
De Decker then looked nervous when failing to take out eight as Humphries eventually cleared off five to level the fifth set at 2-2. The Belgian, though, recomposed himself for the deciding leg, nailing double 16 after some solid scoring to extend his advantage at 4-1.
Despite appearing on the verge of defeat, Humphries finally sparked into life – taking out first 149 and then a superb 152 to level the sixth set at 2-2 before ‘Cool Hand’ finished off 50 to reduce the deficit.
Momentum remained with the defending champion in set seven. De Decker missed chances on both doubles 16 and eight before Humphries landed tops to claw back another set at 4-3.
In the eighth set, Humphries narrowly missed a 170 ‘big fish’ finish, hitting 25 with his final dart, which allowed De Decker to force a deciding leg.
Despite having first bust when needing 67, the world number one took it out second time around to level the match.
After Humphries again struggled to get a double to start the fourth leg of the ninth set, De Decker stopped the rot as he finished up 80 to edge back in front at 5-4 as the players headed backstage for another break.
De Decker forged a 2-1 lead in the 10th set and had the darts to claim the title. Humphries, though, was first to a finish at 120 – and landed double 10 to break back and force yet another deciding leg.
As Humphries’ heavy scoring faltered, a precision 180 from De Decker set up 55 – which he took out in two darts, hitting double top for a memorable finish to his first televised final.
De Decker, who was 36th in the PDC Order of Merit before his successful run at the Mattioli Arena, lived up to his ‘Real Deal’ nickname as he took home the winner’s cheque for £120,000.
“It is heavy, but it feels amazing. I am over the moon,” the Belgian said on Sky Sports. “I was nervous in patches and got nervous at 4-4, but I did it.
“I have been happy with my performance this week, but this tops it off because the way Luke has played this week has been incredible, so being the person that beats him this week and picking up the trophy, I have no words.”
Humphries was magnanimous in defeat.
“I am really gutted, but I am so proud of Mike because he showed so much bottle,” the world champion said. “He is a fantastic guy. There’s a lot more big things to come from him.”
