DE DECKER OPENS UP ON VILE ONLINE ABUSE
08/10/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
MIKE DE DECKER admits he received vile online abuse from fans following Belgium’s early exit at the World Cup of Darts.
‘The Real Deal’ opened his World Grand Prix defense with a 2-1 victory over Peter Wright in Leicester, overcoming early jitters to stay on course for back-to-back titles.
World No. 20 De Decker showed his mental strength on the oche, surviving a slow start to see off the Scot, averaging 91.34 and winning six of the last eight legs.
But De Decker confesses that social media trolls from his home country have made life as a darts pro tougher than ever.
He said: “The hate I got after that made me realise I’m not playing for my country — I’m playing for myself.
“It came from Belgian fans, even people I see every week. When you win, they’re all smiles — when you lose, they bury you. That changed me.
“A few months ago I shared screenshots of messages I got after losing a first-round match on the ProTour.
“People were wishing me dead or hoping I’d get some awful disease. It’s ridiculous. And it’s not just me — every player gets it.
“That’s why now, I just play for myself. I don’t care about being Belgium’s number one anymore.
“I’ve learned to handle expectations. Today I felt the pressure, but I managed to reset and focus. That’s growth.”
The 29-year-old is still searching for his maiden ProTour crown this season and has fallen short of the quarter-finals in all four ranked majors.
De Decker says the pressure of being defending champion hit him hard before the match against ‘Snakebite’.
He added: “It was a shaky start. I felt the pressure of defending my title — that’s new for me.
“I was really nervous. I was here five hours early to relax, but when they said I had two minutes before walking on, the nerves hit again.”
De Decker returns to action on Thursday and will face Luke Littler in a blockbuster last 16 clash at the Mattioli Arena.
He continued: “I saw his match.
“I just hope he doesn’t play like that against me. Because when he’s at that level, it’s hard for anyone to beat him.
“I’m not going to sit here and say ‘well done’ — I just hope he saves that performance for someone else.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
