Mike De Decker misses out on a home tournament place and faces a major drop in the world rankings
PDCThursday, 10 September 2026 at 15:49
The Host Nation Qualifier for the Flanders Darts Trophy ended in disappointment for Mike De Decker. Belgium’s highest-ranked player on the world list had to qualify for the Euro Tour event in Antwerp via the qualifier, but his run stopped in the final round.
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De Decker cruised into the final round by defeating, in turn, Xavier Bracke (6-1), Jerry Lemmens (6-0), Matthias Moors (6-3), and James Vanbesien (6-1). He then faced Jaimy Jacobs, who boldly raced into leads of 4-1 and 5-2. De Decker battled back to 5-5, but Jacobs pulled the trigger in the last-leg decider.
This defeat means De Decker will definitely miss the World Grand Prix, the tournament the Mechelen man won in sensational fashion in 2024.
That title was worth £120,000 in prize money. Those funds will drop off the rankings in early October. De Decker is currently 24th on the PDC Order of Merit, but the Belgian will now fall outside the top 32.
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Dimitri Van den Bergh will also be absent in Antwerp. The multiple major winner returned at the qualifier after a three-month break, but lost 6-2 to Andy Baetens in the last 32.
Baetens did go on to secure a ticket for the main event. After beating Van den Bergh, Baetens also saw off Luc Bogaert (6-3) and Nunjo Dewaele (6-3). Against Dewaele he averaged 103.74.
The other two qualifying spots went to Kevin Lankhuizen and Jeroen Caron. In the final round, Lankhuizen proved too strong for Cedric Coryn with a 6-2 win, while Caron defeated Stijn Deklerck (6-2).
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Mike De Decker will not be in Leicester to defend his World Grand Prix ranking money
Results PDC ET13 Host Nation Qualifier
| Final round | ||||||
| Jaimy Jacobs | (86.84) | 6 | VS | 5 | (93.41) | Mike De Decker |
| Kevin Lankhuizen | (88.69) | 6 | VS | 2 | (84.43) | Cedric Coryn |
| Jeroen Caron | (88.91) | 6 | VS | 2 | (74.40) | Stijn Deklerck |
| Andy Baetens | (103.74) | 6 | VS | 3 | (91.48) | Nunjo Dewaele |
| Last 16 | ||||||
| Mike De Decker | (93.63) | 6 | VS | 1 | (88.24) | James Vanbesien |
| Jaimy Jacobs | (78.98) | 6 | VS | 1 | (67.76) | Wesley De Nil |
| Kevin Lankhuizen | (88.12) | 6 | VS | 3 | (79.64) | Steve De Buck |
| Cedric Coryn | (81.98) | 6 | VS | 0 | (75.71) | Wannes Van Heck |
| Stijn Deklerck | (79.92) | 6 | VS | 3 | (82.02) | Born Van Put |
| Jeroen Caron | (86.39) | 6 | VS | 3 | (76.65) | Xanti Van den Bergh |
| Nunjo Dewaele | (91.59) | 6 | VS | 2 | (74.50) | Jerko Moerenhout |
| Andy Baetens | (85.79) | 6 | VS | 3 | (81.73) | Luc Bogaert |
| Last 32 | ||||||
| James Vanbesien | (82.75) | 6 | VS | 1 | (69.10) | Ergys Mataj |
| Mike De Decker | (90.66) | 6 | VS | 3 | (82.78) | Matthias Moors |
| Jaimy Jacobs | (72.41) | 6 | VS | 4 | (65.22) | Yljo Martens |
| Wesley De Nil | (66.84) | 6 | VS | 2 | (59.66) | Christoffer Schrauwen |
| Kevin Lankhuizen | (76.60) | 6 | VS | 5 | (74.74) | Viani Van den Bergh |
| Steve De Buck | (84.81) | 6 | VS | 3 | (79.91) | Steve Scheers |
| Cedric Coryn | (82.25) | 6 | VS | 1 | (77.75) | Kylian Mangelschots |
| Wannes Van Heck | (78.00) | 6 | VS | 4 | (81.09) | Steven Strobbe |
| Born Van Put | (78.33) | 6 | VS | 4 | (79.85) | Roger Janssen |
| Stijn Deklerck | (73.38) | 6 | VS | 5 | (71.73) | Steve Simonis |
| Xanti Van den Bergh | (79.28) | 6 | VS | 5 | (75.57) | Kenny Simons |
| Jeroen Caron | (86.52) | 6 | VS | 1 | (72.52) | Sven Ghyselinck |
| Nunjo Dewaele | (86.82) | 6 | VS | 1 | (78.68) | Thibault Mercken |
| Jerko Moerenhout | (68.01) | 6 | VS | 4 | (67.22) | Sven Bolyn |
| Andy Baetens | (95.10) | 6 | VS | 2 | (81.68) | Dimitri Van den Bergh |
| Luc Bogaert | (91.71) | 6 | VS | 5 | (89.38) | Lennert Faes |
Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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