Littler and Anderson shine to book places in the final 8 at the Grand Slam

Luke Littler staged a stunning comeback to defeat Mike De Decker in a Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts classic on Thursday evening, while Gary Anderson, Gian van Veen, and Jermaine Wattimena also advanced to the last eight in Wolverhampton.

Day Six of the renowned £650,000 event saw the second round conclude at WV Active Aldersley, with Littler, Anderson, Van Veen, and Wattimena progressing after a high-quality night of action.

Littler, on the other hand, stole the show after rallying from 8-4 down to defeat De Decker, hitting back-to-back 12-darters in the final stages to survive a nail-biting last-leg shootout.

World Grand Prix winner De Decker appeared to be on his way to another massive victory on the big stage after creating a four-leg lead, only for Littler to win six of the final seven legs to accomplish a historic comeback.

The Belgian missed a match dart at the bull for a 170 clincher and a 10-7 victory, but he didn’t get another chance as Littler fired a blazing late onslaught to keep his title chances alive.

“It’s up there with one of the best games I’ve been involved in,” admitted Littler, who averaged 103.48 to De Decker’s 104.49.

“Obviously my favourite is the Premier League final, but that was some game, and to pick myself up from four legs down just goes to show what I can do.

“Mike played his part in a brilliant game, but I’m really happy to advance to the quarter-finals.”

Anderson, a two-time Grand Slam runner-up, faced no such drama in his 10-6 victory over 2023 semi-finalist Bunting, producing four ton-plus finishes to continue his chase of the Eric Bristow Trophy.

The first four games of the contest were split until Anderson blasted off six legs without responding to take an 8-2 lead, boosted by clinical 114 and 120 checkouts.

Bunting halted the rot with three consecutive legs, threatening a late comeback, but Anderson regained control with a superb 138 outshot to lead 9-5 before sealing the match with a 103 kill.

“The game felt scrappy – it was a struggle,” reflected Anderson, who will feature in his tenth Grand Slam quarter-final on Saturday.

“Stephen missed a lot of doubles at the start of the game, but I managed to pinch it at the end!

“I think I needed that 138 [checkout] to give me a bit of a boost, but I’m over the moon to be through.”

Anderson’s reward is a quarter-final match against Gian van Veen, who defeated Ryan Joyce 10-2 to maintain his outstanding form in Wolverhampton.

Van Veen set a tournament average of 108.89 in the group stage, and the Dutchman delivered another outstanding performance to defeat Joyce.

The 22-year-old ripped off seven straight legs to complete a crushing victory, averaging 106.45, landing seven maximums and pinning ten of his 17 tries at double.

“There was always going to be pressure on myself to continue that form, and I’m really happy with that performance,” claimed Van Veen, who will compete in a best-of-31-leg contest for the first time on Saturday.

“I think if I can maintain this level it’s going to take a special performance to stop me, but every player in this tournament is capable of doing that.

“Next up it’s best of 31. I have never played that before so we will see how that goes, but if I continue playing like this, I’m definitely in with a chance this week.”

Wattimena overcame eight missed match darts in the evening’s opener to defeat Dimitri Van den Bergh in an enthralling fight, securing his spot in a second consecutive TV ranking quarter-final.

Van den Bergh took an early 4-0 lead, but the Dutchman rallied by winning seven of the next eight legs, including successive 126 and 88 checkouts on the bull.

The balance turned once more when Van den Bergh countered with a pair of ton-plus checkouts, but he was unable to seal victory in a thrilling conclusion, as Wattimena potted double eight with his sixth match dart to win the decider.

“I thought it was all over. It was incredible,” revealed Wattimena, who now faces Littler for a place in the last four.

“This was a really difficult game, but a win is a win, and I’m looking forward to the quarter-finals.”

2024 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts

Thursday November 14

4x Second Round

Jermaine Wattimena 10-9 Dimitri Van den Bergh

Gian van Veen 10-2 Ryan Joyce

Luke Littler 10-9 Mike De Decker

Gary Anderson 10-6 Stephen Bunting