"What good does it do to win a major anymore" says Erik Clarys as De Decker and Van den Bergh continue to get snubbed

After not a single Belgian was selected for the Premier League Darts, the country has now been dealt another blow. The shortlist where fans can vote for the player of the year does not include a single Belgian either.

That shortlist includes players like James Wade, Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall - who have barely performed in the past year - but thus no major winners like Mike De Decker and Dimitri Van den Bergh.

"What good does it do to win a major anymore?" wondered Belgian darts icon Clarys at HLN. "That used to be the Valhalla, now the PDC turns it into exactly second-rate tournaments. This is really another slap in the face for both Mike and Dimitri."

"This is a devaluation of this award. What signal is PDC sending out with this? That you don't have to show anything to qualify? No, this is really a heavily subjective list with which you are insulting other players."

Following his non-selection to the Premier League Darts, De Decker lashed out heavily at the PDC, blaming CEO Matt Porter in particular for a lack of communication. "I suspect that will be the reason for Mike's non-nomination. Because the PDC is very sensitive to criticism. That's why I find it perhaps even more strange that Dimitri is not among them. Because besides the UK Open, he has also done well at other majors and won a floor tournament."

"He still has to be careful not to get too much into their lane and become persona non grata," Clarys believes. "Mike has to let the arrows speak foremost now. But that, of course, is easier said than done. Because he pretty much has the status now that Dimitri had two years ago. Everyone wants to knock him now."

Clarys himself used to experience that it was not always easy to get into a predominantly British sport as a Belgian. "Sometimes it really was fighting a losing battle. Their will is law."

"But we should not despair. There is a lot of Belgian talent to come. During the VTM Next Gen Darts Academy (where Clarys acts as trainer and supervisor of the young players, nvdr), there are as many as ten to fifteen players who will compete on the Development Tour, the youth circuit of PDC. So who knows, we might have some new top players in a few years. And laugh at this unfortunate choice for once."