"Above all: they have respect for the Belgians and for the opposition" - Mike de Decker praised passionate crowd at Flanders Darts Trophy in Antwerp

Mike De Decker had the home crowd cheering at the Antwerp Expo. 'The Real Deal' defeated Richard Veenstra 6-2 in the opening round of the Flanders Darts Trophy, the tenth tournament of the European Tour this year, and now gets to face ninth-seeded Englishman Ross Smith.

De Decker trailed 1-0 but then threw a 170-finish and lost only one more leg after that. "At times it was very good and at times less," the 28-year-old Belgian told Het Nieuwsblad. "I felt after the match that my average was well over 90, but it hit thick and fast (89.60, ed.). The win is a win, though."

"That 170 was a boost for me though and cracked him up a bit. He seemed to lose it a bit. I still missed some doubles then, so ... I hope this is better tomorrow. That once I did an atypical pose on stage? Yes," the Belgian continues with a laugh. "When the audience goes along like that it comes automatically. The fans were once again top-notch. And above all: they have respect for the Belgians and for the opposition."

De Decker has been in excellent form in recent months and also prepared well for this tournament at home. "I've been training pretty well. My buddy Jimmy de Bo is very much behind me, so he keeps saying, 'If you don't train, you won't make it.' And that comes in from him. I heard him and a few other friends yelling a lot also during the game and that does something..."

"I did train extra hard now, but not necessarily because it's in Belgium. The end of the year is coming up, so then you can pick up now rather than waiting with it. That was also in the back of my mind. A few majors are coming up so I definitely want to be at level," De Decker concludes.