"I don’t pay too much attention to the rankings" - Mike De Decker becomes new Belgian number one in PDC Order of Merit

Mike De Decker has reached a significant milestone in his career. For the first time, the 29-year-old from Mechelen is the highest-ranked Belgian on the PDC Order of Merit. ‘The Real Deal’ now sits at a career-high 20th in the world, leapfrogging compatriot Dimitri Van den Bergh by one spot.

It’s a fitting reward for what has been a strong spell of form in recent months. “To be honest, I don’t pay too much attention to the rankings,” De Decker told Het Nieuwsblad. “But of course, it’s kind of cool to officially be the number one in Belgium. It’s nice to be able to say that, I suppose. It’s mostly the people around me who bring it up—like my mate Jimmy, who said, Buddy, this weekend you’re the new number one!’ So yeah, I hear it from all sides, but it’s not like I’m going to walk into the players' room on Friday shouting about it. That would be mad.”

De Decker, however, has his sights set on climbing even higher. “I just want to get as high as possible in the world rankings. Ideally, I’d like to be in the top 16 by the start of the World Championship in December. That just has a bit more prestige than being top 20, and it also brings advantages in terms of seedings for tournaments.”

De Decker’s rise to become Belgium’s number one doesn’t come as a shock to the man himself. “I’ve always believed I had the ability to be the top Belgian,” he said. “My game has improved steadily over the last few years, but the big results were missing for a while. It wasn’t until 2024 that I really started producing on stage. The belief has always been there, but at some point, it has to come out. You can say for ten years that you’ve got talent, but if you don’t show it when it matters… well, that doesn’t get you anywhere.”

In overtaking Van den Bergh—who had long been the country’s top player—De Decker acknowledged the changing tide. “It was maybe inevitable. Based on current form and results, I’m ahead of him. I was already close at the start of the year. It’s unfortunate that Dimitri feels he needs a break right now. That suggests things are really tough for him, whatever the exact reasons are. You never want to see that happen to anyone.”

As for the upcoming World Cup of Darts in June, where De Decker is set to represent Belgium alongside Van den Bergh for the first time, he’s staying cautious. “Am I worried about the World Cup? We’ll see when the time comes. I don’t want to say too much about that just yet.”