"I wanted to leave Bull's Darts for some time" - Mike De Decker explains switch to Mission Darts

Mike De Decker announced last weekend that he is switching from German darts manufacturer Bull's Darts to Mission Darts. At the upcoming UK Open, he will play with flights and shirt from his new equipment sponsor for the very first time.

"I have been following Mike's progress and have been impressed with his talent," said former top darter Darryl Fitton, who is now an ambassador for Mission Darts. "As well as of his presence on and off the oche. I am so pleased that Mike has agreed to join us. This is a great addition to Mission Darts!"

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De Decker himself is also excited about working with his new sponsor. "I had an appointment scheduled a day after the World Grand Prix, but when I won that tournament, my contract was broken open," De Decker told the podcast "Double Top. "We were pretty quick to agree on those new terms, though, so by then I had already signed."

"I also wanted to leave Bull's for some time. In recent years there were more and more things that bothered me. I had sent an e-mail in early 2024 that I was quitting, but I didn't hear from them for three months. Until I asked if they had looked at that mail. I then had to send it again and then their response was that they were sorry I was leaving. Not of why or can we have a chat about it. Yeah, that's when it stops for me. If they didn't even want to make that effort... They also released special black arrows a year late and at some point they stopped supplying my arrows to stores."

Mike De Decker in action

De Decker, who finally broke through last year by winning the World Grand Prix, had his pick of sponsors. "There were some among them who didn't see me eight years ago and now all of a sudden they do" he says. "Who literally said, 'We don't want Mike.' Yeah, I'm so principled about that then. They could have offered me five times more, I still wouldn't have done it. I can't. Besides, Mission immediately made me feel that I belonged. They also asked several times if I was really going to come, so that's kind of nice."

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At the upcoming UK Open, which kicks off Friday in Minehead, De Decker will play with a new shirt and flights. "It's something different and pretty simple, but I'm a fan of the design. I've been throwing the new arrows for about a month and a half now and it's been a bit of a search at times. But it can't be helped. I've been throwing the same arrows for eight years, so you have every confidence in them. You know how they fly and feel. Now it's new. In terms of balance, this arrow is the same, but the grip is different. They feel like a worn-out version of my old arrows. That always takes getting used to, especially in terms of confidence, but that will come."

"Michael Smith has changed as well, but he also started doing less for it after that World Championship win. So it's not entirely down to those new arrows of his. With most, it's about confidence," De Decker concludes.

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