EVEN before the annual tungsten fest at Ally Pally the final section of 2024 had left us panting for breat:
Autumn has always been packed to the gunnels with seasonal qualifiers and vital ranking majors, but this time the attention on darts was turned up to 11! Thankfully we served up shocks, fairy stories and truly outstanding performances all within a two month period!
Double Decker
The World Grand Prix kicked things off with Mike De Decker producing the performance of his career in defeating Luke Humphries 6-4 in sets at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena.
Many have waxed lyrical about the transformative power of the ‘Double Start’ extravaganza that is the World Grand Prix. But, for all its ability to create, boost and reboot careers, it had never been won by a total outsider…until now.
The 28-year-old Belgian had won through to his maiden televised final with a series of superb displays in the double-start tournament, including wins over Damon Heta, Gary Anderson and compatriot Dimitri Van den Bergh to scoop the £120,000 top prize following a thrilling final.
Reigning champion Humphries, who had produced a steady defence while the other star names slipped by the wayside, was left reeling as De Decker came from a set down to lead 4-1 with a brilliant burst.
De Decker’s success makes him only the second Belgian – alongside Dimitri Van den Bergh – to taste victory in a televised PDC event.
The Belgian, a 100/1 chance with sponsors BoyleSports ahead of the event, joined the elite roll of honour of World Grand Prix champions following a breakthrough week in Leicester.
“I’m so proud,” said De Decker. “It feels amazing – I’m over the moon; I’ve been really happy with my performance all week, but this tops it off.
“It wasn’t my night and sometimes you have to accept that it isn’t…“He’s a fantastic guy, a great player. There’s a lot more big things to come from him after this.” added a magnanimous Humphries.
Ryan Joyce breaking through and James Wade again performing on the major stage were perhaps the other highlights from this ever popular event. 2
Richie’s Euro Revelation
Once-upon-a-time the European Championship was a predictable event that produced victories for Taylor and later MVG. Not any more…..
Ritchie Edhouse stormed to his maiden televised crown with a crushing victory over Jermaine Wattimena in this year’s Machineseeker European Championship continuing a season of unexpected results.
The Basildon thrower took centre stage in the first and last match of this year’s European Championship, after he kicked off the tournament with a stunning 109.48 average in his demolition of Gian van Veen. world number two Michael Smith and Gary Anderson to reach the semi final.
There the 41-year-old continued his ground-breaking run with a dominant victory over Luke Woodhouse and he wasn’t to be denied against another surprise finalist in Wattimena.
The European Championship often saw the dominant player of the era win several titles in a row or other top ranked players take the opportunity of an unusual qualifying structure and format to qualify for other big events or to bag a ranking major. Simon Whitlock’s 2012 victory and Wayne Jones’ valiant effort two years before gave clues as to how things may unfold.
The demanding format and different seeding patterns have always ensured variety but this has been supercharged in the last few years.
Ross Smith launched his top flight career here, and Peter Wright bounced back from a horrendous year’s form to lift the 2023 title, so perhaps Edhouse’s victory should not be too shocking?
Edhouse himself was clearly surprised to go all the way:
“This is unbelievable,” he reflected, having not progressed beyond the last 32 of a televised event prior to his arrival in Dortmund.
“I just wanted to get a couple of wins under my belt and see what happened, so this is a dream come true.”
Prior to the Grand Slam being seeded, and the addition of various events, the European Championship was a highly valued event and perhaps the most significant of the so called ‘mini majors’ it is perhaps now seen, by lower ranked players, as the breakthrough event.
This year’s event will transform the career of Edhouse and hugely boost that of Jermaine Wattimena, whose run to final would normally have been the talk of the weekend. 4
As if to emphasise the events breakthrough potential Luke Woodhouse confirmed his growing stature with a run to the last four and Ricardo Pietreczko showed he has refound his footing and could surge again.
Littler’s Slammin’ Sensation
Luke Littler stormed to his maiden televised ranking title with an astonishing Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts triumph, after dispatching Martin Lukeman 16-3 in the early November showpiece.
The ‘Warrington Wonder’ also equalled the effort of MVG in winning a ranking TV major at the age of 17 when he claimed the Winmau World Masters.
‘The Nuke’ had raced through the group stage losing just four legs, before surviving a match dart to edge out World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker in a gripping last 16 tie.
Littler then powered through to the semi-finals with a demolition of Jermaine Wattimena to set up a fascinating generational showdown against two-time World Champion Gary Anderson in the semi-finals.
The Warrington wonderkid won through a 31-leg epic against Anderson in a pulsating last four clash, recovering from 13-9 adrift to triumph with a 103 average and 16 maximums.
Anderson produced an inspired seven-leg blitz to seize control against the teenage sensation, conjuring up 164, 142 and 102 checkouts during the spell to race into an 11-7 lead.
Littler fought back from the brink to level at 14-14, before landing three 180s in the last two legs to deny the two-time World Champion in a breath-taking deciding-leg shoot-out.
Lukeman had threatened to add to the remarkable list of outsiders claiming major titles this Autumn. Yet he had perhaps given the game away earlier in the week when he told an interviewer he wanted ‘The Nuke’ to be knocked out.
‘Smash’ performed magnificently on debut in Wolverhampton, defeating Peter Wright, Rob Cross and Leonard Gates in the group stage, before seeing off Ross Smith and Cross to continue his dream debut.
The 39-year-old then became the first Tour Card Holder Qualifier to feature in a Grand Slam final after overcoming fellow debutant Mickey Mansell 16-12 in the opening semi-final.
The tungsten teen phenom proved a bridge too far for ‘Smash’ as he produced one of the most dominant displays in Grand Slam history to demolish Lukeman and become the ninth different player to lift the iconic Eric Bristow Trophy.
Staying Cool
Luke Humphries retained the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals title later in November in sensational fashion, defeating great rival Luke Littler in a thrilling final in Minehead.
‘Cool Hand’ claimed the latest ‘Battle of the Lukes’ episode to seal Minehead a hard fought triumph.
The World number one Humphries scooped his third big-stage title here a year ago in the and achieved his ambition of keeping his hands on the trophy.
Littler, had continued his outstanding form to reach yet another final as he sought to follow up his Grand Slam of Darts triumph with successive TV titles.
The latest episode of ‘Darts Stars – The Rivals’ saw Littler fire in four ton-plus checkouts during the contest – including finishes of 170 and 164 – but Humphries proved too strong to wrap up an 11-7 triumph and scoop the £120,000 title.
“I’m really, really proud of that one,” said Humphries. “I didn’t feel myself this week, playing-wise, and I felt like I was a dart behind in a lot of the scenarios.
“But Luke really drives me and makes me want to be a better player and I enjoy playing him.
“Obviously he let me in early and I never looked back. I’m proud of the way I didn’t take my foot off the gas.
“In a lot of games this weekend I’ve taken my foot off the gas and allowed people to come back at me.
“I was very fortunate against Dirk [van Duijvenbode in the semis] but I rode my luck, got into the final and I was in my comfort zone.
“It was a fantastic game again – his finishes were unbelievable and he’s just a special talent.
“These big games are what I live for and what I dream of. I travel the world for these moments and I’m really pleased.”
The Finals were, once again, a mixture of unexpected results including Ian White’s 6-1 win over MVG, unsung runs, Williams peaking again – and ultimately big name triumphs.
Humphries will next attempt to retain the biggest trophy of all, but will he once again have to defuse ’The Nuke’ to do so?
A superb Autumn season has seen the PDC system demonstrate its strength in depth, showing that, unlike past eras, in current times even the most dominant force – Luke Humphries – or its biggest story, Mr Littler, cannot be pencilled in for every title!
——ENDS——
Originally Published in Darts World Magazine 588 (December 2024)
Images: PDC
