"Don’t put me in, because it’d be a slaughter" - Mike De Decker shuts down talk of Premier League Darts debut

When Mike De Decker boarded a flight to the other side of the world at the start of August for his first taste of World Series action in Australia, he could hardly have imagined making the final straight away. Yet that’s exactly what happened in Wollongong.

The 29-year-old Belgian impressed with wins over the likes of world number one Luke Humphries, earning his first career appearance in a major final on a stage outside Europe. There were, however, doubters before a dart had even been thrown.

“In my first match I was a bit nervous,” De Decker admitted on the Darts Draait Door podcast. “A lot of people were saying: ‘He doesn’t deserve to be there.’ You can’t help but have that in the back of your mind. But I got through the first round and from there it went pretty well until the final. The final wasn’t my best, but if you make a final on your debut you can’t really complain — and I certainly don’t.”

That feeling of having to prove himself was there from the outset. “Of course,” he said firmly. “If people are saying you don’t deserve it, you want to show them that you do.”

The motivation quickly translated onto the stage. In the quarter-finals, De Decker produced one of the best performances of his career, whitewashing Humphries 6-0 with a superb 103.66 average.

Even so, he sensed the world champion wasn’t quite himself. “I did get the feeling he wasn’t 100 per cent,” De Decker recalled. “There were two separate practice rooms — one for the PDC invitees and one for the qualifiers. On the second day, Humphries was in the other room by himself. I think he didn’t want to pass anything on. When we went for the bull, he gave me a fist bump instead of a handshake and said, ‘I’m not feeling well.’ On stage you could see the energy wasn’t there. I definitely noticed it.”

In the final, De Decker faced none other than reigning world champion Luke Littler. And, just as in some of their previous encounters, the match was marred by jeering from the crowd. “This time it wasn’t aimed specifically at me, but at both of us,” he explained. “It was just done in an annoying way. I mentioned it once, but it’s always going to happen to some degree. I don’t want to waste my time and energy on it, so I just left it and it didn’t really bother me.”

After the match, De Decker shared a brief exchange with Littler. “The first thing he said after winning was, ‘I want to go to bed.’ I don’t think he was really up for it. But even when he throws a bit nonchalantly, he’s still brilliant. The kid is just a phenomenon. What he’s shown over the last year, year and a half, is exceptional — and he keeps doing it.”

De Decker quickly realised the World Series was a very different beast to the Pro Tour or the Majors. “It’s completely different,” he explained. “You have a day where you keep half of it free for media, meet-and-greets with fans… It’s more like an exhibition event. There’s a lot of joking around, it’s much more relaxed than at the Majors or Pro Tours where everything is far more serious.”

One thing that stood out was the way the PDC looked after its invited players. “Yeah, there’s definitely more luxury. We flew to New Zealand today and the room is basically a king suite, with a separate living room, bedroom, bathroom, jacuzzi… It’s massive. I almost need GPS not to get lost. That’s very different to, say, a Major, where the players’ hotel is just a standard booking. You certainly won’t find that in Blackpool,” he laughed.

That more laid-back atmosphere doesn’t mean the World Series lacks competitive value — far from it. For many, it’s a shop window for bigger opportunities, such as a Premier League place. But De Decker is keeping his feet on the ground. “We’ll see. On the basis of my year so far, I’d say: don’t put me in, because it’d be a slaughter. My results just haven’t been good enough. But there are still plenty of Majors to come, so things can change. Six months from now it could look completely different.”

Away from the oche, there was time to explore. Travelling with his close friend Ludo, De Decker also spent time with Damon Heta and his wife, Meghan, enjoying a day out in Sydney. “We spent a day in Sydney — went to the Opera House, took the ferry to the zoo, and walked around the city in the evening. Because Damon and Meghan are from there, they knew exactly where to take us. Australia and New Zealand aren’t places you’d normally just go for a city break, so it’s great to have this opportunity and to share it with my best mate.”

After the final in Australia, De Decker headed straight to New Zealand for the next World Series stop in Auckland. With three days off before media duties resume, he plans to make the most of it.

“We’ve got three days off now,” he said. “I’ve got media stuff on Thursday, so I’m going to try to catch up on some sleep because the last few days have been chaos. We’re right in the centre of Auckland, so we’ll definitely get out and about. On Tuesday I’m getting a Maori tattoo as a memento of the trip — nothing big, but something special. It’s going on my right forearm.”