Mike De Dekker came close to hanging up his darts for good in recent years, but those thoughts are behind him now he is a major champion thanks to his stunning World Grand Prix success on Sunday night.
The 28-year-old shocked world number one Luke Humphries to claim a 6-4 win in Leicester and complete by far the greatest week of his career so far.
Not only did the Belgian beat the world champion in the final, he produced a string of excellent results to reach the showpiece, downing Damon Heta, Gary Anderson, James Wade, Dimitri van den Bergh along the way.
De Decker was a 200-1 shot before the tournament started but proved he has come a long way since dropping off tour from 2018-20, when he felt he was not good enough to compete at the highest level.
‘I’ve been crying backstage, there was a moment I was going to cry just two minutes ago,’ De Decker told a post-match press conference. ‘I’m over the moon, I got this trophy, I got a major title, I’m lost for words.
‘I never said I can’t win it, I just said I didn’t want to think about it. At 4-1 up I thought I was kind of close, then Luke decided to go mental on finishes. At 4-4, I don’t know why, I relaxed.
‘It was unreal. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I’m so, so happy.
‘Five years ago when I had to go back to Q School after losing my card I lost in the first round for four days straight and I was thinking, that’s it, I’m done, I don’t want to do this again. Look at me now! A major champion, I’m over the moon.’
On what could be next for The Real Deal, he is not worried just yet and would be happy to go without an invite to next year’s Premier League as he continues to grow in the sport.
‘I didn’t expect this before the week started but I did it. I’ll just go into every major from now on with the same feeling and see from there,’ he said after claiming the £120,000 top prize.
‘To be honest I don’t think I’m ready for the Premier League just yet. 14 weeks againt the top eight of the world every single week. It’s so hard.
‘I’ve seen it with Kim [Huybrechts], with Dimitri [van den Bergh], with Jelle [Klaasen], I don’t know. If they put me in I’ll say yes, 100 per cent, but if they don’t put me in, that’s fine.’
Humphries was the defending champion in Leicester and clear favourite to lift the trophy again after his outrageous 12 months of success has put him streets ahead at the top of the world rankings.
However, it was not to be for him in the double-in event this year, as he paid a typically classy tribute to the champion after defeat.
‘He showed a lot of bottle tonight and that makes a good player,’ said the runner-up. ‘Your first major final there can be nerves and it looked like he didn’t feel it.
‘Missed opportunity for myself, I felt like I missed so many opportunites in the game, my doubles were awful, but Mike was fantastic and I think the better player won the game.
‘I deserve to be the runner-up and he deserves to be the winner.’
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