Belgian darts in freefall: Huybrechts fights back but De Decker and Van den Bergh search for answers

The recent World Grand Prix was held without Belgian participants for the first time in years. The tournament symbolised the difficult situation Belgian darts currently finds itself in. Results at the major televised tournaments have been particularly poor this year. While Belgian players regularly made their mark on the majors in recent years, 2026 has so far been remarkably quiet.

The World Grand Prix was also the second consecutive major for which no Belgian player qualified. At Dartsnieuws.com, we look back at the performances of Belgian players at this year’s major televised tournaments. We also look ahead to the coming months and examine which opportunities remain for Belgian players to end the season on a positive note.

When we look at the year-to-date ranking, which considers only the prize money players have earned during the calendar year, it immediately stands out that no Belgian is ranked inside the top 32. Kim Huybrechts is the highest-ranked Belgian in 36th place. That may be somewhat surprising, given the difficult path ‘The Hurricane’ has faced recently.

Huybrechts endured a particularly poor 2025 and was eliminated in the first round of the most recent World Darts Championship. The experienced player from Nijlen therefore began the new season aware that his PDC Tour Card was at risk. However, the 40-year-old Belgian showed character and proved during the opening months of the year that he was far from finished.

At the Winmau World Masters, the first major of the new season, Huybrechts impressed in the preliminary stages. He defeated Nick Kenny and fellow Belgian Dimitri Van den Bergh in succession. He was particularly impressive against the latter, producing an average of over 100. However, things went wrong in the decisive qualifying match. Huybrechts lost 3-1 to his good friend Niels Zonneveld.

Nevertheless, the Belgian had clearly gained confidence. He also produced strong performances at Players Championship events in the following months. As a result, he travelled to the UK Open in early March with realistic ambitions. The tournament nevertheless ended in disappointment. Huybrechts had several opportunities against Keane Barry, but eventually went down 6-5.

Huybrechts, however, refused to give up. He continued to fight and subsequently qualified for several Euro Tours. What hardly anyone, including Huybrechts himself, had thought possible at the start of the season suddenly came within reach: qualification for the World Matchplay.

In the end, the Belgian finished just outside the top 16 of the Pro Tour Order of Merit, missing out on a place at the prestigious tournament in Blackpool. Qualification for the World Grand Prix was also within touching distance. To achieve it, Huybrechts needed to win his opening match at the Flanders Darts Trophy in front of his home crowd. Instead, it became another disappointment. Despite missing several match darts, he lost 6-5 to young Polish player Sebastian Bialecki. Bialecki therefore earned a place at the unique double-in, double-out tournament in Leicester, while Huybrechts was once again forced to watch from the sidelines.

There are still plenty of reasons to look to the future with confidence. Huybrechts is currently in a qualifying position for both the European Championship and the Players Championship Finals. In addition, he appears capable of preparing for the World Darts Championship for the 16th consecutive year. He also has relatively little prize money to defend on the world rankings, meaning he could climb significantly in the coming months. After a particularly difficult period, the experienced Belgian has fought his way back into contention for the most important tournaments.

Mike De Decker is the second-highest Belgian in the year-to-date ranking. ‘The Real Deal’ began the season firmly inside the world’s top 32, but has since slipped considerably. While he won the World Grand Prix at the end of 2024, he has struggled to rediscover that level this year.

At the Winmau World Masters, De Decker entered the tournament as the 19th seed. He immediately faced a daunting opening-round assignment against Luke Littler. However, the Belgian impressed and came remarkably close to producing an upset against the future world-class player. De Decker had a match dart but failed to convert it, allowing Littler to prevail 3-2.

At the UK Open, De Decker was also seeded 19th and received a bye into the fourth round. In a thrilling match, he defeated England’s Adam Lipscombe 10-8. Rob Cross then stood between him and the quarter-finals. The two players remained level for a long time, forcing a deciding leg at 9-9. The former world champion eventually prevailed, bringing De Decker’s tournament to an end.

The following months proved particularly difficult. De Decker rarely managed to approach the level that saw him win the World Grand Prix at the end of 2024. His results on the Players Championship tournaments and the Euro Tours also fell short too often.

In mid-June, De Decker did take part in the World Cup of Darts alongside Dimitri Van den Bergh. The Belgian duo began the team tournament with a surprise 4-2 defeat against Hong Kong, dealing an immediate blow to their chances of reaching the knockout stage. Belgium recovered against Slovenia and won that match. When Slovenia then surprisingly defeated Hong Kong as well, all three countries finished level on points. Thanks to the head-to-head results, De Decker and Van den Bergh still advanced to the last 16.

There, they faced defending champions Northern Ireland. It was a fiercely contested encounter, but the Belgians eventually suffered a narrow defeat. Once again, a genuine success story failed to materialise at the World Cup.

A year earlier, De Decker had reached the second round of the World Matchplay, but this time he failed to qualify for the prestigious tournament in Blackpool. Qualification for the World Grand Prix also proved beyond him. He has now missed two major televised tournaments in succession, after no Belgian had managed to qualify for the World Grand Prix either.

The disappointing results have also affected his position in the world rankings. De Decker has now slipped to 34th and must rely mainly on strong performances during the remaining months of the season. At present, he is still qualified for the Players Championship Finals and the World Darts Championship, but his position remains vulnerable.

Meanwhile, Kim Huybrechts is steadily closing the gap on his compatriot in the world rankings. De Decker had been Belgium’s leading player in recent years, but he now risks losing that status again. To prevent that, “The Real Deal” urgently needs better results in the coming months. His 2024 World Grand Prix title proves that he has the ability to compete at the highest level, but it is gradually becoming time for him to show that quality on the board once again.

Mario Vandenbogaerde is Belgium’s third-ranked player on the year-to-date ranking. The 53-year-old from West Flanders, one of the experienced figures in Belgian darts, has actually enjoyed a fairly strong season so far. That may not be immediately apparent from his results at the major televised tournaments, but “Super Mario” has produced some impressive performances on the floor.

Vandenbogaerde began the Winmau World Masters with a victory in the first preliminary round. He defeated Austria’s Mensur Suljovic 3-1. However, he failed to reach the main draw. His campaign ended in the second preliminary round, where Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski proved too strong in a 3-0 victory.

The UK Open also ended in disappointment. Vandenbogaerde was eliminated in his opening match after narrowly losing 6-5 to Germany’s Leon Weber. His ambitions at the season’s first major televised tournament therefore ended early.

On the Players Championship tournaments and the Euro Tours, however, the Belgian made a much stronger impression. Vandenbogaerde regularly qualified for the Euro Tour and also excelled in the floor tournaments. His highlight came at the 26th Players Championship, where he reached the final. He lost 8-6 to Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki, but reaching the final underlined that Vandenbogaerde remains capable of competing with the leading players.

Qualification for the World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix was never a realistic prospect this season. Even so, the experienced Belgian currently has little reason to worry about his future on the PDC Tour. He is well placed to retain his Tour Card and has already secured his place at the World Darts Championship.

The Players Championship Finals also remain within reach. Vandenbogaerde is currently just outside the qualifying places, meaning strong performances in the remaining floor tournaments could still earn him a ticket. Although his results at the majors have been disappointing so far, “Super Mario” has shown enough in the other events to approach the end of the season with confidence.

With a 112th place in the year-to-date ranking, Dimitri Van den Bergh is the fourth Belgian on the list. That position sounds almost surreal for a two-time major winner, but it is unfortunately the harsh reality for the 32-year-old Antwerp native. Where ‘The DreamMaker’ was still part of the absolute world elite a few years ago, he is now completely lost. He has been unable to fulfil his dreams for some time, and this season he has so far failed to turn things around.

Van den Bergh had to start in the preliminary rounds at the Winmau World Masters. He opened with a victory over Danny van Trijp, but then lost his next match against fellow Belgian Kim Huybrechts. As a result, his first major televised tournament of the season ended at an early stage.

The UK Open also ended in disappointment. Van den Bergh faced Dutchman Danny Noppert in his opening match, but was unable to make an impact and suffered a 10-4 defeat. It was another early exit for the Antwerp player, who urgently needs a boost.

Van den Bergh did represent Belgium alongside Mike De Decker at the World Cup of Darts. As mentioned earlier, the Belgian pair reached the last 16, where they eventually lost narrowly to defending champions Northern Ireland. However, there have been few other positive highlights for Van den Bergh this season. So far, he has qualified for only one Euro Tour event, while his results in the Players Championship tournaments have also fallen short of expectations.

In addition, the two-time major winner had to miss several Players Championship events for health reasons. This gave him fewer opportunities to earn prize money and improve his position in the world rankings. His 112th place in the year-to-date ranking illustrates how far he currently is from the level he reached during his best years.

The outlook for the coming months is also particularly difficult. Van den Bergh is currently not on the entry list for any major in the autumn, not even the World Darts Championship. That is a particularly painful situation for a player who won the World Matchplay in 2020 and the UK Open in 2022. Retaining his PDC Tour Card is also increasingly threatening to become a very difficult task.

Still, the question is whether results and rankings are currently Van den Bergh’s main concerns. In recent years, the Antwerp player has repeatedly shown that he has the talent to compete at the highest level, but for now he appears to have lost that confidence completely. Regaining his mental freshness and, above all, finding enjoyment in darts again seems more important than chasing a quick return to the top. Only once that foundation is restored can Van den Bergh hope to steer his career back in the right direction.

The final Belgian Tour Card holder discussed in this overview is Stefaan Henderyck. The 52-year-old West Flemish player won his PDC Tour Card at the start of 2025, but has since found it particularly difficult to prove himself at the highest level. His results have again failed to materialise this season, leaving his future on the PDC Tour looking very bleak.

Henderyck had to miss the Winmau World Masters because of work commitments. As a result, the UK Open was the only major in which he competed this year. That campaign was also short-lived, however. In his opening match, ‘Friete’ lost 6-4 to Welshman Robert Owen and was eliminated at an early stage.

Henderyck also struggled to win matches in the Players Championship tournaments. Moreover, he failed to qualify for a Euro Tour event for the second consecutive year. This gave the West Flemish player few opportunities to improve his prize money and position in the world rankings. He is therefore only 140th in the year-to-date ranking.

The outlook for the remaining months of the season is no brighter. Henderyck has not qualified for any major in the autumn and will therefore need an exceptionally strong finish to save his position on the PDC Tour. Without a major turnaround, he appears set to lose his Tour Card after just two seasons.

The state of Belgian darts in 2026 currently looks particularly bleak. In recent years, Belgium regularly enjoyed success at major televised tournaments through players such as Dimitri Van den Bergh and Mike De Decker, but those performances have largely been absent this season. No Belgian managed to qualify for the World Grand Prix, while the country’s representatives were also eliminated notably early at other majors. In addition, no Belgian player is currently inside the top 32 of the year-to-date ranking.

There are still a few bright spots, however. Kim Huybrechts appears to have found his way back upwards after a difficult period and still has a chance of competing in several major tournaments. Mario Vandenbogaerde also showed with his Players Championship final appearance that he can still compete with the best players on the floor. Mike De Decker, meanwhile, will need to rediscover his former level, while Dimitri Van den Bergh is in particularly urgent need of a turnaround.

The coming months will therefore be crucial for Belgian darts. With the European Championship, the Players Championship Finals and the World Darts Championship ahead, there are still opportunities to give the season a more positive direction. However, the Belgian players will need to produce better results quickly. Otherwise, 2026 threatens to go down as one of the most disappointing years for Belgian darts in a long time.