MIKE DROP
Mike De Decker sends clear message after becoming first TV major winner in 20 years to miss out on Darts Premier League
PDC chief executive Matt Porter has vigorously defended the decision
MIKE DE DECKER has hit back following his surprise Premier League Darts snub.
The reigning Grand Prix champion, 29, was overlooked for the 2025 edition of the lucrative eight-man tournament.
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De Decker enjoyed a mixed 2024, climbing the world rankings to No. 24 and winning his first major TV title.
But The Real Deal also crashed out early from the PDC World Championship, European Championship, and Grand Slam of Darts.
Some fans reacted with surprise after he was omitted from the Premier League lineup on Tuesday.
De Decker becomes the first player in the tournament's 20-year history to miss out on the lineup after winning a major televised on Sky Sports.
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And the Belgian broke his silence on Instagram, quoting a tweet that suggested the snub was "sickening."
Posting on Instagram Stories, De Decker screenshotted an X tweet from Absolute Darts contributor Ben Hudd.
It read: "Mike De Decker becomes the first player in the 20-year history of the Premier League to win a major televised on Sky Sports and not be selected. Sickening."
De Decker added an eye-roll emoji to the post, which was sent to his 19.3k followers.
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Following the snub, PDC chief executive Matt Porter responded to criticism and claimed the Belgian "wasn't quite ready."
He said: "Mike is an outstanding talent and is someone that undoubtedly we will see in Premier League Darts in the future.
Mike De Decker ignores Sky Sports interview minutes after stunning Luke Humphries to win World Grand Prix Darts
"We didn't feel he was quite ready. There's a lot of tournaments throughout the year.
"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."
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Despite De Decker being sidelined, the 2025 Premier League features a host of talent.
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Reigning champion Luke Littler - fresh from his World Championship win at Ally Pally - is joined by World No. 1 Luke Humphries.
Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Stephen Bunting, Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey make up the remainder of the lineup.
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