Mike De Decker has no right to complain about being snubbed from this year’s Premier League line-up, according to Chris Mason.
The Belgian responded to his snub by hitting out at Premier League Darts bosses for choosing players such as Nathan Aspinall and Gerwyn Price instead of him, describing his own omission as ‘scandalous’.
“They say you get into the Premier League based on results but apparently that is not the case,” said De Decker. “Aspinall is there with his walk-on purely for entertainment and if Price performs badly in the first few weeks, he will start complaining again.”
Mason, who reached the World Darts Championship semi-finals in 2003, believes De Decker should not be complaining about being left out of the Premier League line-up.
He pointed to the 29-year-old’s results outside the World Grand Prix, urging him to back up his words by performing well on a consistent basis.
“Does he have a point to moan? Not really,” said Mason. “I’m a huge De Decker fan and chuffed to bits to see him win a big tournament. He’s not backed it up. You’ve got to back it up or you’ve got to be highly ranked.
“Unfortunately, his ranking despite winning the World Grand Prix isn’t even high enough to be considered. I’m gutted for him because if other things may have not worked out the way they did he may have had a sniff.
“[Danny] Noppert has never got a sniff, won the UK Open. [Andrew] Gilding, Ross Smith, it’s not a new thing. I get the gripes if I would’ve won a major.
“Even if he’d have sort of been a top 16 player and won a major, I think he would’ve been in. Tough for him, but there you go.”
Dave Chisnall also lashed out at his omission from the Premier League line-up, claiming that Aspinall had only been selected due to his popularity with fans.
“That one [Aspinall being picked] was a surprise for me,” added Mason. “I thought they may have given him a year just to get [his form] back. I’m pretty sure if he didn’t think he could manage or if the arm wouldn’t hold up, I don’t think he would’ve taken it.
“It’s a good indication that Nathan’s in a great place. The popular players are popular for a reason. Their personalities come through on stage. The Premier League is a party. They’re selling the game to the casuals.
“They’ve got to provide that entertainment. Look at Peter Wright, his ranking was down. He finished bottom and still got in the following year.”
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