Mike De Decker says he will ask Luke Humphries to change the format of their Belgian Darts Open match on Saturday night. Facing Humphries is a tough challenge at the best of times, and De Decker is plotting a cheeky request to maximise his chances of making it through.
The pair are only five months down the line from their most high-profile meeting of all, in the final of the 2024 World Grand Prix. Despite going into the tournament as a 200-1 outsider with bookmakers, De Decker mastered the double in, double out format and toppled Humphries to come away with the biggest title of his career.
The Belgian Darts Open works to a standard format, whereby players are free to start chipping away at the 501 as soon as the leg starts. But De Decker would seemingly prefer to face Humphries on terms which force players to hit a double before they can start working their way down.
Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad after his first-round win over Thomas Lovely, De Decker said: « Before the match, I said that if I face him, I’ll ask him to play double in, double out, the format from our World Grand Prix final. And I mean it, I’ll ask him that [laughs].
« But seriously, I’m going into this match much more relaxed because I’m the underdog. That’s a status that suits me. »
De Decker was a contender to make this season’s Premier League Darts line-up but results have completely deserted him since being snubbed. He had lost four straight matches before ending that run against Lovely, but a modest 86.33 average would have been swiftly found out by the world’s top players.
Belgian thrower De Decker has the support of his home crowd this weekend. However, he admits that things don’t feel great on the oche.
« The confidence isn’t there, and you can see that on stage, » he explained. « In practice, things go well at times, but when it comes to playing a match… I don’t know what it is, but something just doesn’t click. You try not to focus on it, but it’s hard not to think about it.
« When I do my walk-on, which actually gave me goosebumps, the only thing going through my mind is, ‘Please, throw a good match.’ Yeah, that’s not ideal. Up until the World Championship, I had the mindset of, ‘I’m going to win this.’ I don’t have that right now. That needs to change, and I hope it comes soon. »
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