Mike De Decker may be Belgian by birth, but he feels far from passionate about his home nation.The world No. 20 was subject to torrents of abuse after Belgium, who he represented at this year’s World Cup of Darts in June alongside Dimitri Van den Bergh, failed to progress from the group stage. It was De Decker’s first time playing for Belgium at the tournament, which unfortunately coincided with the nation’s earliest-ever exit.What made it worse was that Belgium had reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in seven of the previous ten iterations of the event, meaning expectations from fans were high.Speaking after his 2-1 win over Peter Wright in the first round of the World Grand Prix, the Belgian star revealed how the vile abuse changed his mindset about representing his nation.De Decker lifts the lid on sickening trolls“The hate I got after that (the World Cup) made me realise I’m not playing for my country, I’m playing for myself,” De Decker said.“It came from Belgian fans, even people I see every week.“When you win, they’re all smiles. When you lose, they bury you. That changed me.“A few months ago, I shared screenshots of messages I got after losing a first-round match on the ProTour.“People were wishing me dead or hoping I’d get some awful disease. It’s ridiculous.“And it’s not just me, every player gets it.“That’s why now, I just play for myself. I don’t care about being Belgium’s number one anymore.De Decker progressed from the first round at the World Grand Prix for just the second time in his careerShutterstock“I’ve learned to handle expectations. Today I felt the pressure, but I managed to reset and focus. That’s growth.”How has De Decker played this year?De Decker’s early World Cup exit was just one of several disappointing performances from the Belgian this year after several highs in 2024, capped off by winning last year’s World Grand Prix.The 29-year-old has not reached the quarter-finals of any televised major tournament this year, although he did reach the final eight of the World Series of Darts Finals.But De Decker overcame his poor form and the added weight of being the defending champion to edge past two-time world champion Wright.“It was a shaky start,” De Decker said.“I felt the pressure of defending my title – that’s new for me.The Belgian’s win over ‘Snakebite’ was his fifth from the eight times they’ve faced offShutterstock“I was really nervous. I was here five hours early to relax, but when they said I had two minutes before walking on, the nerves hit again.”Who does De Decker play next at the World Grand Prix?The tasks at the World Grand Prix don’t get any easier for De Decker as he faces reigning world champion Luke Littler in the second round.Littler overcame a record-breaking performance from Gian van Veen to record a straight-sets win on Tuesday.De Decker and Littler’s second round clash takes place on Thursday.