Mike De Decker's bid to compete in front of a home crowd at the Flanders Darts Trophy ended in heartbreak, and with it came the confirmation that he will miss the World Grand Prix — the tournament he won in sensational fashion in 2024. Belgium's highest-ranked player on the world list had to go through the Host Nation Qualifier to earn his spot in Antwerp, but his run stopped in the final round.
De Decker looked imperious in the early rounds, cruising past Xavier Bracke (6-1), Jerry Lemmens (6-0), Matthias Moors (6-3), and James Vanbesien (6-1). In the final round he met Jaimy Jacobs, who boldly raced into leads of 4-1 and 5-2. De Decker battled back to 5-5, but Jacobs pulled the trigger in the last-leg decider, winning 6-5. The defeat means De Decker will definitely miss the World Grand Prix, and the £120,000 in prize money from his 2024 title will drop off the rankings in early October. Currently 24th on the PDC Order of Merit, the Belgian will now fall outside the top 32.
Dimitri Van den Bergh will also be absent in Antwerp. The multiple major winner returned at the qualifier after a three-month break, but lost 6-2 to Andy Baetens in the last 32. Baetens went on to secure a ticket for the main event, following his win over Van den Bergh with victories against Luc Bogaert (6-3) and Nunjo Dewaele (6-3). Against Dewaele he averaged 103.74.
The other two qualifying spots went to Kevin Lankhuizen and Jeroen Caron. In the final round, Lankhuizen proved too strong for Cedric Coryn with a 6-2 win, while Caron defeated Stijn Deklerck (6-2).
Full results from the PDC ET13 Host Nation Qualifier:
Final round:
Jaimy Jacobs (86.84) 6-5 Mike De Decker (93.41)
Kevin Lankhuizen (88.69) 6-2 Cedric Coryn (84.43)
Jeroen Caron (88.91) 6-2 Stijn Deklerck (74.40)
Andy Baetens (103.74) 6-3 Nunjo Dewaele (91.48)
Last 16:
Mike De Decker (93.63) 6-1 James Vanbesien (88.24)
Jaimy Jacobs (78.98) 6-1 Wesley De Nil (67.76)
Kevin Lankhuizen (88.12) 6-3 Steve De Buck (79.64)
Cedric Coryn (81.98) 6-0 Wannes Van Heck (75.71)
Stijn Deklerck (79.92) 6-3 Born Van Put (82.02)
Jeroen Caron (86.39) 6-3 Xanti Van den Bergh (76.65)
Nunjo Dewaele (91.59) 6-2 Jerko Moerenhout (74.50)
Andy Baetens (85.79) 6-3 Luc Bogaert (81.73)
Last 32:
James Vanbesien (82.75) 6-1 Ergys Mataj (69.10)
Mike De Decker (90.66) 6-3 Matthias Moors (82.78)
Jaimy Jacobs (72.41) 6-4 Yljo Martens (65.22)
Wesley De Nil (66.84) 6-2 Christoffer Schrauwen (59.66)
Kevin Lankhuizen (76.60) 6-5 Viani Van den Bergh (74.74)
Steve De Buck (84.81) 6-3 Steve Scheers (79.91)
Cedric Coryn (82.25) 6-1 Kylian Mangelschots (77.75)
Wannes Van Heck (78.00) 6-4 Steven Strobbe (81.09)
Born Van Put (78.33) 6-4 Roger Janssen (79.85)
Stijn Deklerck (73.38) 6-5 Steve Simonis (71.73)
Xanti Van den Bergh (79.28) 6-5 Kenny Simons (75.57)
Jeroen Caron (86.52) 6-1 Sven Ghyselinck (72.52)
Nunjo Dewaele (86.82) 6-1 Thibault Mercken (78.68)
Jerko Moerenhout (68.01) 6-4 Sven Bolyn (67.22)
Andy Baetens (95.10) 6-2 Dimitri Van den Bergh (81.68)
Luc Bogaert (91.71) 6-5 Lennert Faes (89.38)
