Luke Humphries has wry smile as he responds to taunting fans after shock World Grand Prix of Darts defeat to Mike De Decker

Luke Humphries suffered a shock defeat in the World Grand Prix of Darts final in a classic contest against Belgian Mike De Decker.

De Decker, whose previous best at the tournament was the second round, produced magnificent darts to claim an entertaining 6-4 triumph in Leicester.

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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.

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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.

“It’s heavy but it feels amazing!” De Decker said after defeating reigning champion Humphries.

“Oh my goodness, I’m over the moon… the way Luke has been playing since last year is brilliant and being the person who beats him in the final, picking up this trophy, I’m so, so, so, so happy.

“I was cool in patches. At the beginning I was really, really, really nervous… went 4-1 up, he came back to 4-4 and then I started to get nervous again.

“But I did it…”

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“He was started to hit big finishes and I was thinking, ‘come on man, just stop it!’ De Decker added.

“All credit to Luke, he’s been such a phenomenal champion for the last year, he’s such a nice person.

“I am so, so proud. I lost my card, I wasn’t on tour… my best friends and my mum have all been behind me, so thanks to them I won this trophy.”

Humphries was gracious in defeat, especially in the face of the fans in attendance doing a chant mocking Leeds United, the team he supports.

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“Cheers, make me feel better!” Humphries said to the crowd with a wry smile during his post-match interview.

“Obviously I’m gutted to lose… but I’m so proud of Mike,” Humphries added. “He showed so much bottle.

“I know how it felt to be in that position, my heart was going, my hands were shaking. I’ve grown up with Mike…

“It just wasn’t my night, sometimes it isn’t.”

Earlier in the tournament, Humphries requested that fans in attendance curb their ‘Leeds are falling apart again’ chants during the tournament.

But after the excitement of De Decker’s shock win, that plea fell on deaf ears.