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De Decker Secures Maiden PDC Senior Title

De Decker Secures Maiden PDC Senior Title On The ProTour

Alex Moss |

A WEEK IN DARTS – AUGUST 5, 2024 – DE DECKER CLAIMS FIRST PROTOUR TITLE DURING PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP TRIPLE HEADER

The PDC ProTour resumed in Milton Keynes last week with a trio of Players Championship events and a trio of different winners. Plus, there was news of a two-time world champion making his comeback to the sport. Here’s our recap of all the darting stories from the last week…

DE DECKER JOINS PROTOUR ROLL OF HONOUR

Belgium’s Mike De Decker became the newest first-time winner on the ProTour after winning Players Championship 16 on Thursday.

The 28-year-old averaged 104.87 as he beat Ricky Evans 8-2 in the final in Milton Keynes to land his maiden PDC senior title.

‘The Real Deal’ won four Development Tour titles earlier on his career, before rising through the ranks on the professional circuit and breaking into the world’s top 40 last year.

And the Belgian broke new ground at the Marshall Arena last week, beating Robbie Knops, Jose De Sousa, Dave Chisnall, Danny van Trijp, Brendan Dolan, Karel Sedlacek and Evans to scoop the £15,000 top prize.

“I’m over the moon to win this,” De Decker said. “I’ve been in a final of a Players Championship before and lost to Rob Cross, and it’s taken a while for me to get over the winning line.

“Finally I can say I won something! I’ve grown up, taken the game more seriously (and) started to practice more, taken it more professionally and finally it pays off.

“Hopefully the next step is (to win) a European Tour.”

The Players Championship triple header kicked off on Wednesday with Premier League champion Luke Littler picking up the Players Championship 15 title.

It was a seventh tournament win of the season for ‘The Nuke’ and saw him become the first two-time winner on the Players Championship circuit this season, with the first 14 events having produced 14 different champions.

The 17-year-old defeated first-time finalist Wessel Nijman 8-6 in the final, battling back from 6-5 down to deny the Development Tour Order of Merit leader a maiden ProTour title.

On Friday, Josh Rock claimed his second title of 2024 after beating Joe Cullen 8-6 in the final of Players Championship 17.

The Northern Ireland number one claimed his first tournament victory on the European Tour earlier this year, and backed up that success with another win on the floor last week.

‘Rocky’ took out a 170 finish to go 7-6 up in the final before hitting double eight to wrap up the title and close in on a place in the world’s top 16.

JACKPOT ANNOUNCES COMEBACK PLANS

Two-time PDC world champion Adrian Lewis has revealed his plans for a return to competitive darts in 2025.

‘Jackpot’ has taken a break from the PDC circuit since March of last year and has dropped out of the world’s top 64 in the rankings.

Last week, the 39-year-old outlined his intentions for a comeback to the competitive scene after signing a deal with MODUS Sports Management.

“I’m delighted to be returning to the sport that I love, and to be backed by MODUS Sports Management going forward,” Lewis said.

“I feel refreshed and re-energised, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds for me.

“I will not be rushing back to Q-School just yet, but I am not ruling it out in the future. Firstly I shall be looking to play the MODUS Super Series in 2025 as my pathway back to the professional circuit.”

BANKS QUALIFIES FOR CHAMPIONS WEEK

Teenage star Thomas Banks booked his spot in Champions Week at the MODUS Super Series after winning week nine of the competition on Saturday night.

The 17-year-old, who is part of the Mission Academy, beat Ireland’s Conor Heneghan 4-2 in the final to secure his place in the season finale in Portsmouth later this month.

After topping Group C on Friday to qualify for the six-player finals night the next day, ‘The Bulldog’ ran off wins against Tom Lonsdale, Mike van Duivenbode, Scott Mitchell and Heneghan to upset the odds and earn a spot in Champions Week.

“I’m buzzing. This week has been such an amazing week and this is definitely at the top of my achievements,” Banks said.

Banks joins Tom Sykes, Jim Long, Richard Rowlands, Jimmy van Schie, Neil Duff, Paul Hogan, Adam Paxton and Connor Scutt in the line-up for Champions Week.

The last three spots in the 12-player field will be confirmed over the next three weeks.

Pictures: Jonas Hunold/PDC Europe

Alex Moss is a content creator for Darts Corner and the co-host of the Weekly Dartscast podcast. Alex co-founded the Weekly Dartscast in 2017 and has helped produce 350+ episodes of the podcast, with their list of previous guests on the show a who’s who in the world of darts.

Alex also writes content for the Darts Corner blog, including the weekly darts news round-ups and how-to guides.

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