'It must be something with the Scandinavian girls': Cor Dekker jokes about influx of Dutch players defecting to Nordic and Baltic regions

Cor Dekker, better known to fans as The Sheriff, is still chasing his first big TV win on the PDC stage, but as he prepares to face Raymond van Barneveld at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam, he’s relishing the opportunity.

“Of course, meeting Raymond van Barneveld, I know there’s the Barney Army behind him, but I’m looking forward to it,” Dekker told The Darts Show Podcast. “I’ll just give my best shot and we’ll see what happens.”

Big Stage Experience

Although Dekker has played darts for many years, his experience on the sport’s biggest televised stages has been limited. He admits the pressure is different, but he tries to keep it simple. “I see it the same as the Euro Tour, but like you say, it’s probably a bigger stage. For me, every stage is the same thing really,” he explained.

Last year on the Euro Tour in Budapest, Dekker produced one of the moments of the season, winning his first game on the circuit and hitting a nine-darter against Stephen Bunting.

“It was awesome. My first nine-darter, so the last three darts went in automatically,” he recalled. “It was an amazing feeling. My son still does the celebration every time at home, so it’s a good memory.”

That perfect leg came in typically unconventional fashion, following a couple of miscounts. “Maybe that was what I needed, because my brain wasn’t really figuring everything out. I miscounted one leg, then did the same in the next, and it was all a bit blurry. Then suddenly everything fell into place—180 and 141—and nine darts! I’ll take that every time.”

A Dutchman in Norway

Dekker was born and raised in the Netherlands but has called Norway home since 2012, after moving there to be with his wife. “I emigrated to Norway in 2012 because of my wife, and I’ve been living there since—so over 13 years now,” he said. “I’ve been married 10 years now, so it’s working out well.”

He still works full-time in a warehouse, often juggling long shifts with darts travel. “It’s three shifts. Sometimes I finish a night shift and then travel straight to somewhere like Hildesheim, play, and then go straight back into a night shift. It’s hard, but it’s how you have to do it in the beginning.”

Dekker admits it’s a struggle many new professionals face. “You have to combine darts and work until you build up a buffer. Everyone depends on money—you need an income to support your family—so at first you just have to juggle both until you can focus fully on darts.”

Life Abroad

Dekker isn’t the only Dutch player to settle in Scandinavia, with the likes of Jeffrey de Graaf and Kevin Doets also based there. When asked why, he laughed: “It must be something with the Scandinavian girls. I could’ve had a girlfriend half an hour from where I lived in Holland, but instead I emigrated to Norway. You never know how life goes.”

He loves the space and nature Norway offers compared to the Netherlands. “In Holland it’s a small country with 17 million people, but Norway’s a big country with lots of space and nature. What I miss the most is not the country itself, but family and friends.”

Dekker has even represented Norway internationally and now sees himself as belonging to both nations. “It must be both. If you move to another country and live your life there, then that’s the country you should represent.”

His son, born in Norway, is “a proper Norwegian,” Dekker laughs. “I tried to teach him Dutch but it wasn’t easy. He struggled in kindergarten, and I didn’t want him to get behind or be bullied, so I stopped with it.”

Facing His Idol

Returning to Amsterdam to take on van Barneveld is a special moment for Dekker. The five-time World Champion was his childhood hero.

“He’s the reason I started playing darts. He was my idol when I was about 10 years old. He won his first BDO World Championship then, and that’s when I picked up darts. He’s a legend for me, and now I see him as a friend on the circuit. I’m looking forward to playing him—it’s my first game against him—so I’m really excited.”