The Premier League of Darts kicks off in just four weeks time but it seems not everyone is happy about it.
Darts is on the crest of a wave following a glittering World Championships at Ally Pally which saw teenage prodigy Luke Littler claim the whopping £500,000 prize.
Legends were made, moments are etched in the minds of fans forever and more importantly darts is well and truly on the sporting map.
Fans and players won’t have to wait long for their next major darts fix with the Premier League kicking off in Belfast on February 6.
However, one star is not happy with the line-up for the 17-week extravaganza, insisting he should have been selected.
“My first feeling immediately after the announcement was one of disbelief,” said Mike De Decker after learning of his omission.
The Belgian is the reigning Grand Prix champion but his exploits were not deemed good enough to make the eight-man shortlist to take part in this year’s tournament.
Nicknamed ‘The Real Deal’, De Decker climbed the world ranking in 2024, reaching a high of No.24.
But his displays at the big events left a lot to be desired after early exits at the World Championship, European Championship and the Grand Slam of Darts.
De Decker became the first player in the 20-year history of the Premier League to miss the cut despite winning a major tournament and expressed his anger and disappointment at the decision.
“The past twenty years, the Grand Prix winner was there every time,” he added.
“I clean up that game there (De Decker won against ex-world champions Gary Anderson and Luke Humphries), but I am skipped.
“That is sour,” said De Decker. “Of course, I can’t change anything about it, the PDC is boss. But I think their decision, to be honest, is a bit scandalous.”
PDC chief executive Matt Porter admits that he had concerns over De Decker’s inclusion claiming he ‘wasn’t quite ready’ for the Premier League.
However, the Belgian is in total disagreement with that notion.
“That explanation, I didn’t think it was fair,” said De Decker. “I had said after the Grand Prix final that I thought I might not be ready and I don’t regret that.
“That was my feeling at that moment. But afterwards I reached a quarter-final on the EuroTour in Prague, played a world-class match at the Grand Slam against Littler and was in the quarter-finals of the Players Championship Finals.
“Only at the World Championship things didn’t go well. It sucks and it’s a shame that it happened then, but still. To say that I’m ‘not ready’ is too simplistic. It’s a shame that they thought that way. I do feel ready, because I’ve shown that I can compete with the world’s best.”
Nathan Aspinall and Gerwyn Price were both selected ahead of De Decker in what some have called a controversial decision and the Belgian is in no doubt that he should have been selected ahead of Aspinall, in particular.
“Aspinall (who did not win a single title in 2024 and both De Decker and Van den Bergh won two) is in it purely for the entertainment,” he claimed.
“Okay, but then the PDC should change the rules. Now they say that you get into the Premier League based on results. Apparently that is not the case. It just has to be fun for the audience, be clear about that.
“You now get a glorious exhibition tournament of seventeen weeks, nothing more. And… I also have a good walk-on. At almost every tournament these days they sing along to my song. Everyone loved it at the World Cup too. But yeah.
“I want to destroy everything this year,” said The Real Deal. “Not that I’m going to win everything like Humphries after they kept him out of the Premier League, but I’m going to try my damnedest.”
Asked about De Decker’s omission, Porter said: “We’ve seen players in the past, I don’t want to embarrass them by naming them, but players like Danny Noppert, Ross Smith and Andrew Gilding that have won TV tournaments.
“But you have to show that you can compete in the latter stages of TV tournaments on a regular basis.
“Doing it once is fantastic and is something that you will always have but to really be part of the elite, you have to be doing it on a regular basis over multiple years.”