Mike De Decker has raced past Dragutin Horvat in straight sets to book his place in round 2 at the PDC World Darts Championships.
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With plenty of German fans in attendance, Horvat was given a rapturous welcome as he took to the stage. Once the darts began however, it was De Decker that looked the better, winning the opening set 3-1.
Set 2 followed much the same pattern. Whilst Horvat was scoring better than his opponent, De Decker's finishing was top quality. Taking his ton-plus checkout tally to three (110, 106, 100), the Belgian again won the set 3-1 to move two clear.
With the 180s flying in from both to begin the third set, Horvat hit a ton-plus checkout of his own, 117 to break throw in the opening leg. De Decker though, broke straight back in leg 2. With De Decker holding throw to go one away, Horvat kept his cool to force a deciding leg. With the Belgian having the advantage of throw, he was always favourite in the decider and he would prevail to claim a 3-0 win.
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.