# Mike De Decker

Mike De Decker (born 15 December 1995) is a Belgian professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number twenty-one. Nicknamed "the Real Deal", he won his first major title at the 2024 World Grand Prix, defeating Luke Humphries 6–4 in the final. De Decker won his first ranking PDC title at Players Championship 16 in 2024. He made his first PDC European Tour final at the 2025 Belgian Darts Open. He reached his second major quarter-final at the 2024 Players Championship Finals.
In his youth career, De Decker won four PDC Development Tour titles.

## Career
### 2014–2015: First appearances in the PDC

De Decker first played on the PDC Youth Tour in 2014 and reached the Last 16 twice. In the same year, he won the British Teenage Open at the World Darts Federation. He also qualified for three European Tours but failed to win a match.
In January 2015 De Decker played PDC Q-School for the first time but was unable to win a Tour card. He managed to qualify for the 2015 UK Open, through being ranked 81st on the UK Open Qualifiers Order of Merit. He beat Stephen Hardy 5–1 in the first round but was eliminated in the second round 5–3 by Jan Dekker. In the following months De Decker was active on the PDC Challenge Tour and the PDC Development Tour. On the Development Tour, he reached three semi-finals and three finals. He won events 5 and 11, defeating Benito van de Pas 4–3, and Dimitri Van den Bergh 4–2 in the respective finals, but lost to Dean Reynolds 4–2 in the event 15 final. De Decker finished the season ranked second on the Development Tour Order of Merit, which earned him a PDC Tour Card for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He qualified for the 2015 PDC World Youth Championship as the 4th seed, but lost to Sam Hanson 6–1 in the second round.
In Autumn, De Decker was able to take part in Players Championship events for the first time as a call-up from the Challenge Tour virtue of his ranking on that Order of Merit.

### 2016–2017: Two years with a Tour card

De Decker played on the 2016 PDC Development Tour and won the 19th and final event of the year. In May, he achieved his first victory on the European Tour at the 2016 European Darts Matchplay against Darren Johnson.
After a rather unsuccessful summer, De Decker then reached the last 16 of a Players Championship for the first time at the beginning of October.
In March 2017, De Decker threw a nine-darter on the Development Tour and reached a quarter-final and a semi-final. This was followed by a quarter-final at a Players Championship event in April 2017. He reached the last 16 of the 2017 Dutch Darts Masters on the European Tour for the first time after defeating Richard North and Alan Norris and also qualified for the 2017 Players Championship Finals, where he was eliminated in the first round by Adrian Lewis. After a win on the Development Tour at the end of the year, De Decker again qualified for the 2017 PDC World Youth Championship and this time reached the last 16, where he was eliminated by reigning champion Corey Cadby. De Decker lost his Tour Card at the end of 2017 season.

### 2018–2019: Two years outside of the Pro Tour

De Decker therefore took part in Q-School again in spring 2018, but failed to win a Tour card. On the PDC Challenge Tour and Development Tour, he reached several quarter-finals and once the semi-finals.
At the beginning of 2019, De Decker reached a quarter-final at Q-School, but was again unable to win a Tour card. On the PDC Development Tour, he reached two quarter-finals and a semi-final. De Decker also took part in several European Tour events and reached the last 16 of the 2019 Austrian Darts Championship after defeating Chris Dobey and Jonny Clayton, which he narrowly lost to Rowby-John Rodriguez.

### 2020–2023: Back on the Pro Tour and settling into the top 64

In January 2020, he won a Tour card at the European Q-School in Hildesheim, beating Dennis Nilsson 5–3 in the Day 2 final. This meant De Decker returned to the Pro Tour for the first time in three years.
De Decker qualified for the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship via the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit. In his World Championship debut he met fellow debutant Edward Foulkes in the first round, but lost 3–0 in sets. De Decker qualified for the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts in November via the Tour Card Holder qualifier. However, he only won one leg in three group matches against Peter Wright, Gabriel Clemens and Fallon Sherrock.
At the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship De Decker defeated Darius Labanauskas in the first round. In the second round he lost 3–0 to Dave Chisnall.
De Decker qualified for the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship, where defeated Jeff Smith 3–1 in the first round. In the second round he lost 3–0 to Mensur Suljović. De Decker made his debut at the 2023 World Matchplay and 2023 World Grand Prix, losing both in the first round.

### 2024: Breakthrough in his career

De Decker qualified for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, winning 3–1 against Dragutin Horvat in the first round, but again lost in the second round, 3–1 to Madars Razma.
De Decker won his maiden PDC senior title by defeating Ricky Evans in the final at Players Championship 16. This win helped him qualify for the World Grand Prix through the ProTour Order of Merit.
In October 2024, De Decker won his first ever PDC major title, defeating Luke Humphries 6–4 to win the 2024 World Grand Prix in only his second appearance in the tournament. De Decker became only the second Belgian to win a major title after Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Throughout the season, De Decker managed to qualify for 11 out of 13 European tours, which qualified him for the 2024 European Championship, where he reached the second round on debut, defeating Josh Rock 6–1 before losing to Danny Noppert 10–6.
By winning the Grand Prix, De Decker qualified for the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts, being drawn in Group E with Michael Smith, Jermaine Wattimena and Mensur Suljovic. De Decker lost his first group match to Wattimena, but defeated Suljović and Smith to finish second in his group. De Decker lost 10–9 to Luke Littler in the second round.

### 2025

He lost to Luke Woodhouse 3–1 in the second round of the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship. Following the tournament, De Decker became the first winner of a premier event televised on Sky Sports to not be selected for the Premier League lineup. Speaking on Sky Sports News, PDC chief executive Matt Porter commented that De Decker would not be ready for the Premier League as he had not frequently played in the latter stages of televised tournaments, but described him as an "outstanding talent" and opined that De Decker would likely be in the Premier League in the future. De Decker declined an invite to the 2025 Dutch Darts Masters due to family commitments.
De Decker reached his first European Tour final at the Belgian Darts Open after wins over Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price and Ross Smith. He was unable to capture the title in front of his home crowd, losing 8–3 to Luke Littler.

## World Championship results
### PDC

* 2021: First round (lost to Edward Foulkes 0–3)
* 2022: Second round (lost to Dave Chisnall 0–3)
* 2023: Second round (lost to Mensur Suljovic 0–3)
* 2024: Second round (lost to Madars Razma 1–3)
* 2025: Second round (lost to Luke Woodhouse 1–3)

## Career finals
### PDC major finals: 1 (1 title)

* Legend
* World Grand Prix (1–0)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
| Winner | 1. | 2024 | World Grand Prix | Luke Humphries | 6–4 (s) |
* ↑ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

## Performance timeline

| Tournament | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| PDC Ranked televised events ||||||||||||
| World Championship | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R |
| World Masters | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 1R |
| UK Open | 2R | 2R | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 3R | 2R | 3R | 4R | 5R | 4R |
| World Matchplay | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 1R | DNQ | |
| World Grand Prix | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 1R | W | |
| European Championship | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 2R | |
| Grand Slam | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | RR | DNQ | DNQ | 2R | |
| Players Championship Finals | DNP | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | 2R | 1R | QF | |
| Non-ranked televised events ||||||||||||
| PDC World Youth Championship | 2R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| Career statistics ||||||||||||
| Year-end ranking | 120 | 93 | 71 | 137 | 130 | 90 | 59 | 53 | 39 | 24 | |
PDC European Tour
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 2014 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | EDG 1R | EDT DNQ |
| 2015 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | IDO 1R | EDO 1R | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2016 | DDM 1R | GDM DNQ | GDT DNQ | EDM 2R | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2017 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | GDT 1R | EDM 2R | ADO DNQ | EDO DNQ | DDM 3R | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2018 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | DDM 1R | GDT 2R | DDO DNQ | EDM 1R | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2019 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | GDO 1R | ADO DNQ | EDG DNQ | DDM 1R | DDO 1R | CDO DNQ | ADC 3R | EDM DNQ | IDO 1R | GDT DNQ |
| 2020 | BDC 2R | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2021 | HDT DNQ | GDT DNQ |
| 2022 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | BDO 2R | GDT DNQ |
| 2023 | BSD DNQ | EDO DNQ | IDO 3R | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | CDO 2R | EDG DNQ | EDM DNQ | GDO 2R | HDT QF | GDC DNQ |
| 2024 | BDO 3R | GDG 1R | IDO 1R | EDG DNQ | ADO 1R | BSD QF | DDC 1R | EDO 1R | GDC DNQ | FDT 2R | HDT DNQ | SDT 2R | CDO QF |
| 2025 | BDO F |
PDC Players Championships
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| 2015 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | BAR 2R | BAR 3R | DUB 1R | DUB 1R | DNP | DNP |
| 2016 | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 3R | BAR 1R | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | COV 3R | COV 1R | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | DUB 2R | DUB 4R | BAR 1R | BAR 2R |
| 2017 | BAR 3R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 3R | MIL 1R | MIL 1R | BAR 3R | BAR 1R | WIG QF | WIG 1R | MIL 3R | MIL 1R | WIG 3R | WIG 1R | BAR 3R | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | BAR 2R | DUB 1R | DUB 2R | BAR 3R | BAR 2R |
| 2018 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 2019 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | HIL 3R | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 2020 | BAR 1R | BAR 2R | WIG 1R | WIG 2R | WIG 3R | WIG 1R | BAR 2R | BAR 2R | MIL 1R | MIL 1R | MIL 4R | MIL 1R | MIL 4R | NIE 1R | NIE 2R | NIE 2R | NIE 1R | NIE 2R | COV 1R | COV 3R | COV 2R | COV 3R | COV 1R |
| 2021 | BOL 1R | BOL 2R | BOL 1R | BOL 1R | MIL 1R | MIL 1R | MIL 1R | MIL 2R | NIE 1R | NIE 3R | NIE 1R | NIE 4R | MIL 2R | MIL 2R | MIL 2R | MIL 1R | COV 2R | COV 1R | COV 1R | COV 1R | BAR 3R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 4R | BAR 1R | BAR 3R | BAR 1R | BAR 4R | BAR 1R | BAR 2R |
| 2022 | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | WIG 1R | WIG 2R | BAR QF | BAR 1R | NIE 2R | NIE 2R | BAR 3R | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | BAR 3R | BAR 1R | WIG 2R | WIG 3R | NIE 1R | NIE QF | BAR 2R | BAR 3R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 2R | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | BAR QF | BAR 2R | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | BAR SF | BAR 4R |
| 2023 | BAR 1R | BAR 2R | BAR 3R | BAR 2R | BAR 2R | BAR SF | HIL 2R | HIL 4R | WIG 4R | WIG 1R | LEI F | LEI 3R | HIL 3R | HIL 3R | LEI 2R | LEI 3R | HIL 1R | HIL 1R | BAR 1R | BAR SF | BAR 2R | BAR 3R | BAR 2R | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 3R | BAR 2R | BAR 1R |
| 2024 | WIG 4R | WIG 2R | LEI 2R | LEI 1R | HIL 1R | HIL 1R | LEI 2R | LEI 2R | HIL 2R | HIL 2R | HIL 4R | HIL 3R | MIL 1R | MIL 2R | MIL QF | MIL W | MIL 3R | MIL 2R | MIL 1R | WIG 3R | WIG 3R | LEI 4R | LEI 4R | WIG 4R | WIG 4R | WIG 3R | WIG 3R | WIG DNP | LEI 4R | LEI 4R |
| 2025 | WIG 4R | WIG 3R | ROS 1R | ROS 1R | LEI SF | LEI 1R | HIL SF | HIL | LEI | LEI | LEI | LEI | ROS | ROS | HIL | HIL | LEI | LEI | LEI | HIL | HIL | MIL | MIL | MIL | HIL | HIL | LEI | LEI | LEI | WIG | WIG | WIG | WIG | WIG |
* 1 2 3 Not a Tour card holder
Performance Table Legend :
| W | Won the tournament | F | Finalist | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR Prel. | Lost in # round Round-robin Preliminary round | DQ | Disqualified |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | #R RR Prel. | Lost in # round Round-robin Preliminary round | NYF | Not yet founded |