"It gave me goosebumps" - Mike de Decker enjoying every second of being major champion and safely through in Dortmund

Mike De Decker started his hunt for a second consecutive major title strongly on Friday night in Dortmund. 'The Real Deal' was too strong for Josh Rock in the opening round of the European Championship, taking a 6-1 win. A duel with Danny Noppert awaits in the next round.

He started in style with a 90 checkout for 1-0 and after missed chances from Rock, he surged into a 2-0 lead. Rock sat at 1/1 on the doubles as he couldn't produce the power scoring of his opponent who hit four 180's despite missing 12 darts at double. He hit a 80 checkout for 4-1 before sealing the hammer blow. he went one away with a 60 checkout and hit double four for the win 6-1.

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Despite the seeming ease of the win, De Decker denied it felt easy up there on stage. "I didn't feel dominant. I didn't feel as well as I did backstage, but I got the win," the Belgian assesses in his post-match press conference afterwards.

It was the first time De Decker had been announced as a major champion on the big stage by master of ceremonies John McDonald since his incredible World Grand Prix triumph. "It gave me goosebumps," he admits. "I played in Prague after the World Grand Prix and they announced me as the newly crowned World Grand Prix champion and it gave me goosebumps there, and it did again tonight!"

Mike De Decker hunts for second consecutive majors title in Dortmund

De Decker is not satisfied with just the one major title. Although that's not to say his expectations have immediately shifted following his breakthrough success. "I just go into this looking at it one game at a time," he insists. "If I win, then I'm over the moon."

During the World Grand Prix, De Decker always held off after his matches by saying he couldn't win the tournament. Will he dare do that now at the European Championship? "Maybe so," he concludes with a laugh.

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