"I’m not down in the dumps. Dimitri is, though, and that’s very understandable" - Mike De Decker supports struggling teammate as World Cup hopes fade

Belgian came into the event surrounded by caution. Their team made up of Mide de Decker and Dimitri Van den Bergh may seemed like the best on paper and in the rankings, but prior bad form on the oche concerned everyone. While De Decker lived up to the hype, Van de Bergh failed to produce any backup as they lost their opening group match 4-2 to Hong Kong.

It was always going to be tricky against a nation like Hong Kong. Boasting Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee proved to be a step ahead of the pair in a very commendable performance. They averaged over 87 and missed just five darts at a double. Belgium averaged slightly more but could only get four darts on the outer ring. While De Decker averaged 106, Van den Bergh languished at a dreadful 66.

Hong Kong strode confidently into a 2-0 lead after a hectic second leg where all four players missed darts to secure the leg. A 14-dart break clinically moved Hong Kong on the edge of glory, but Belgium would muster up an attempted comeback. Hong Kong resisted the pressure and edged through to win and take a huge leap towards qualification. For Belgium, once notoriously a dark horse at the World Cup, their chances have faded massively with a miracle needed to advance.

De Decker produced a very high level on stage, and was not feeling too down due to that. The same could not be said for his teammate who was very sombre as De Decker described in his press conference.

“I couldn’t do any more,” De Decker stated after the match. “With that average of Dimitri’s, it’s going to be tough. He also picked it up very poorly, which I already suspected and which is logical. Dimitri got away quickly, and that’s not his usual style. There’s little we can do about it. You win with two and you lose with two. I did manage to get through it after the second leg, with consistent 100 or 85 and a few 140s. I thought: ‘If I can keep this up, maybe I can pull Dimitri along.’ However, that wasn’t the case.”

He could obviously be very satisfied about his own showing, but the former World Grand Prix champion knew that there was work to be done. “Yeah, it doesn't exactly seem to be my thing. But if I look purely at myself, I can be quite satisfied. I’ve recently started playing with shorter points and my darts are just flying really well. The chances I got here – apart from that 90 – also went out. I really hoped to be able to catch Dimitri in my flow, but that didn't happen. Too bad.”

De Decker is under pressure at the end of the year with a lot of prize money to defend. He is not hitting his stride and struggling to find his best darts, making early exits seem like the norm.

This has been the case for Van de Bergh for a while now. The two-time major champion has really struggled for any form and momentum, especially on the big stage, and is in real danger of stumbling off the tour if he is unable to find his best darts once more. Already losing the money won from the UK Open, he is in danger.

This pain on stage continued while De Decker shone. However, that is the cruel reality of pairs. One person can drag the team down, and Van den Bergh knew that. “This pretty much sums up my season. Generally speaking, I’m not throwing too badly," he admitted. "I feel that things have been running much better with those shorter points for the past week or two. I feel much more consistency in training—and this was my first tournament with this—and look at my average.

"For example: Dimitri came to train last Tuesday and in the first fifteen minutes I threw almost ten 170s. Then things are looking good, right? I feel like I threw well here, so I’m not down in the dumps. Dimitri is, though, and that’s very understandable.”

A performance like this does boost 'The Real Deal' in a hope to turn this torrid year around and finally get something going on the oche. “I just feel that the results are coming for me. After a year and a half of searching and frustrations, it’s about time. I feel it. It just needs to come out more consistently; that inconsistency has to go.

"That I have to perform now? Okay, but if all my ranking money from 2024 disappears, I’ll still be 36th or 37th on the world rankings. So there’s nothing to worry about. This tournament is – despite the result – a boost for now. I have confidence in my throw; it just has to stop being one good match and one bad one. It certainly seems to be on an upward trend.”

Slovenia is the other team in Group B, and a win is mandatory if they are to stand any chance of making it through. Belgium will be up first with nothing but a win good enough. It will be then down to Slovenia pulling off a result against Hong Kong in the evening. If this happens, all the teams will be on three points and leg difference comes into play.