DE DECKER ADMITS HE NEEDS TO KEEP QUIET
22/03/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
By Aaron Nijjar
MIKE DE DECKER has admitted he needs to keep his mouth in check after accidentally insulting an entire country.
‘The Real Deal’ has had a positive start to 2025 reaching the final of the Belgium Open earlier this month before losing 8-5 to Luke Littler.
World Grand Prix champion De Decker also reached the semi-finals of the Players Championships Five and Seven.
In January De Decker was invited to the Dutch Darts Masters in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, which is commonly known as Den Bosch.
The Belgian ace turned down the invite, citing travel from Dubai for a holiday as his reason for not being able to go.
But De Decker’s explanation did not sit well with some as he said: “The World Series isn’t really a tournament I was looking forward to, and definitely not the one in the Netherlands.
“If you get invited, you want it to be for an event in Bahrain or Australia — somewhere exciting.
“Of all the places they hold these tournaments, ‘s-Hertogenbosch is the last place you’d want to go.”
World No. 21 De Decker’s perceived insult sparked a backlash, as he admitted on the Double Top podcast he probably “needs to learn to keep my mouth shut”.
He said: “I got quite a few messages asking why I have something against the Netherlands, but that’s not the case at all. I never said I don’t like the World Series of Darts.
“I probably need to learn to keep my mouth shut sometimes.
“But I’ve been to the Netherlands plenty of times.
“When you think of the World Series of Darts, you dream of playing in Bahrain or Australia—not in the Netherlands.”
Compatriot Dimitri van der Bergh described De Decker as someone who “always speaks his mind”.
De Decker returns to action today (Saturday) at the European Darts Trophy as he faces former World champion Peter Wright.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
