The 28-year-old from Mechelen has seen continuous growth on the PDC circuit over the last ten years, securing four Development Tour events during his rise.
De Decker not only reached his second quarter-final of 2024 on Wednesday, but he also claimed the £15,000 title just 24 hours later, marking his first ProTour victory.
Expressing his delight, De Decker said, “I’m thrilled to have won this. I’ve been in a Players Championship final before and lost to Rob Cross, so finally getting over the line feels amazing.”
Referring to a recent article ranking the top players from Belgium in history, De Decker mentioned, “I was rated as the tenth-best and that didn’t sit well with me. After reaching the quarter-final yesterday and winning today, hopefully, that list will be revised!”
Throughout Thursday’s event in Milton Keynes, De Decker’s performance was outstanding. Despite his lowest average of 93.45 against Robbie Knops in the opening round, he averaged over 105 in his match against Jose de Sousa. He then went on to defeat top seed Dave Chisnall, Danny Van Trijp, Brendan Dolan – in a nail-biting decider – and Karel Sedlacek to secure a spot in the final.
In the final showdown, De Decker faced off against England’s Evans and denied him his first senior title with a breathtaking display. De Decker hit six maximum 180s and converted eight doubles out of 14 attempts, concluding the match with a remarkable average of 104.87.
De Decker got off to a blazing start with back-to-back 13-dart legs, taking a commanding 3-0 lead. Although Evans managed to respond in the fourth leg, De Decker pulled away with another trio of legs, including impressive finishes of 13 and 12 darts, to establish a 6-1 lead.
