"It was this country waiting to explode — and it really seems to have fizzled out": Belgian darts showing uncertain future as De Decker and Van den Bergh falter

According to talkSPORT presenter Chris Murphy and former professional darts player Paul Nicholson, the once highly promising Belgian darts scene has lost its shine. The long-awaited breakthrough appears to have ground to a complete halt for now.

Mike De Decker, a former World Grand Prix winner, took another hit at the World Championship at Alexandra Palace. The “Real Deal” went out in the first round after a 3-2 defeat to debutant David Munyua of Kenya. It fit a difficult year for De Decker, who in 2024 failed to reach the quarterfinals at any major televised tournament and came up short at the decisive moments.

Dimitri Van den Bergh could not halt the decline either. At the Worlds he also fell at the first hurdle, with a resounding 3-0 defeat to Darren Beveridge. His 80.64 average spoke volumes. The current world number 25 endured a downright miserable season and failed to qualify for the World Grand Prix, World Matchplay, Grand Slam of Darts, and the Players Championship Finals. He promised to come back stronger.

Murphy sees the signs piling up and fears that the long-heralded breakthrough of Belgian players has stalled completely for the time being. Speaking to talkSPORT, he made no attempt to hide his view.

“De Decker hasn’t really kicked on,” said Murphy. “I’m not quite sure what is going on with Belgian darts at the moment. There are no real signs of a Van den Bergh revival or Kim Huybrechts. It was this country waiting to explode — and it really seems to have fizzled out over the last 12 months or so.”

Former pro Paul Nicholson also weighed in, questioning the mental resilience and hunger of Belgium’s top names after yet another disappointing spell.

On the Love the Darts Podcast, Nicholson said: “The Belgians, for me — I think De Decker will look at that game in one of two ways. How on earth did I lose to someone who averaged 80? Or, I really hope that fires him up to get on the board creatively over January and be ready for the PDC World Masters.

“If he’s not ready for that, then someone needs to get in his ear and fire him up, because like Michael van Gerwen, he’s got a rather large cheque to defend in October.

Nicholson was more cautious on Van den Bergh. "As for Dimitri, we just don’t know. I think in his own mind, he might know where he wants to go. He’s not the player he was. He’s maybe not the person he was.

“But with the right help, I still think there’s a world-class darts player there. This could just be a rough patch he has to fight through to become the person he wants to be.”