28-year-old Mike de Decker made a feat after winning the World Grand Prix in Leicester, England, which is one of the annual major tournaments of international darts.
The Belgian de Decker received a prize money of 140,000 euros for the win and dropped from 36th to 25th place in the world statistics. The victory was his first in the big televised competitions organized by the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation).
De Decker, who was thought to be the underdog, beat the world’s number one player in the final Luke Humphries set 6-4. Before this, big names had already fallen out of his treatment Gary Anderson, James Wade and countryman Dimitri van den Bergh.
In the final match, de Decker took a 4-1 lead in sets, but Humphries still fought to level 4-4. However, de Decker, known by the nickname “The Real Deal”, held his ground and grabbed the necessary two rounds.
De Decker’s three-dart average was 92 in the final, and Humphries’s was 90. Even in the closing doubles, the Belgian found his opponent better.
The special feature of the World Grand Prix is that the competitive game 501 must both end and start by rolling a double. Finding the starting double in particular is often a tough spot even for professionals under pressure.
De Decker’s trademark is an almost expressionless poker face, but Humphries’ chase to 4-4 caused him turmoil. “In the beginning I was really nervous. Then I pulled myself together and took a 4-1 lead. When Humphries leveled up, I started to get nervous again. But I got through it,” de Decker told PDC.
Humphries has had a great year despite this loss. He started dominating the big darts stages 12 months ago from this very tournament and has since also won the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship. At the beginning of this year, he became the number one player in the world after winning the World Championships in London.
This year, Humphries has already won the World Cup (as a pair by Michael Smith with) and World Matchplay.
Darts’ annual highlight, the World Darts Championship, is played from mid-December at London’s Alexandra Palace.