(PREVIEW) Belgium at the World Cup of Darts: will they finally manage to get that coveted trophy this year?

The PDC World Cup of Darts kicks off next Thursday in Frankfurt. One of the forty participating countries is Belgium. How did they do at this tournament in the past and how can we assess their chances this year?

The World Cup of Darts is the unofficial world championship for nation teams within the PDC. The first edition of the tournament took place in 2010, when 24 countries were present. This remained so until 2014, when the field of participants was expanded to 32 countries. Since last year there are 40 countries and only pair matches are played.

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First edition

Going back to the first edition in 2010, Belgium was one of the participating countries. There was no Tour Card system back then so two players were designated for Belgium who played occasional tournaments at the PDC, which were Rocco Maes and Patrick Bulen. Both Belgians started the tournament as 21st seed and took on 12th-seeded Finland with Marko Kantele and Jarkko Komula in the opening round. However, Maes and Bulen caused a surprise by winning 5-2. In the second round they went down particularly narrowly with 6-5 against the Canada of John Part and Ken MacNeil.

Some of the shirts that will be on display at this year's World Cup of Darts

Whereas the tournament is now organized every year, in the early days it was only every two years. In 2012, Kim Huybrechts appeared on stage for the first time, he was paired with Kurt Van de Rijck. The seventh-seeded Belgians were unranked in the first round and then faced Sweden. Kim Huybrechts won his singles match against Dennis Nilsson, but because Van de Rijck lost against Magnus Caris, a doubles match had to decide the match. The Belgians eventually won it 5-2. In the quarter-finals Belgium faced Australia. Simon Whitlock opened with a win against Van de Rijck, but Huybrechts levelled the scores again after a win against Paul Nicholson. In a high quality doubles match it was the Australians who took the win.

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Brother pair in World Cup final

A year later, for the first time in the history of the World Cup of Darts, a brother pair entered the tournament, with older brother Ronny Huybrechts invited to play alongside Kim. The Belgians started the tournament doubtfully with a defeat against Northern Ireland and a win against Hungary, but that was still enough to qualify for the next round. In the second round, Australia, the tormentor of the Belgians the year before, was convincingly sent home as the Belgians booked a 5-1 victory.

This was followed by a win against Croatia, which put the Belgians in the semi-finals of the World Cup of Darts for the first time. In the semi-finals Kim Huybrechts opened with a 4-1 win against Jani Haavisto, but because Ronny narrowly lost 4-3 to Komula, a doubles match had to bring the decision. In that doubles match the Belgians won convincingly 4-0 and managed to qualify for the final. In the final a clash with Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis from England awaited. Belgium eventually managed to win one match but lost the final 3-1.

Through 2017, Kim and Ronny Huybrechts would pair up for Belgium at the World Cup of Darts. They ultimately failed to win the tournament, but they continued to perform very consistently. They reached at least the quarter-finals at every participation.

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Dimitri Van den Bergh won this year's UK Open

Dimitri Van den Bergh

In 2018, in the person of the Dimitri Van den Bergh, a new top Belgian talent began to quietly make his rise. 'The Dreammaker' had meanwhile taken over the second Belgian spot (behind Kim Huybrechts) in the world rankings from Ronny Huybrechts and from then on was allowed to form a duo with Kim at the World Cup of Darts. Both Belgians had known each other since they were little and it was immediately clear that they clicked on stage. At their joint debut at the World Cup of Darts they reached the quarter-finals after victories against Ireland and Finland respectively.

They faced England, with Rob Cross and Dave Chisnall in the ranks that year. Cross opened with a win against Huybrechts, but Van den Bergh then beat Chisnall to hang the boards in balance again. In the pairs match, the experience of the Belgians paid off, winning 4-0 including a ton plus average. In the semi-finals, they eventually lost 2-0 to the Netherlands with Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld in the ranks.

Bickering

In the following years Kim Huybrechts and Van den Bergh were also a couple at the World Cup of Darts. Only in 2021 did they disappoint with a defeat in the second round against Austria, otherwise they always reached at least the quarter-finals. In 2023 Belgium went to the World Cup of Darts as one of the favorites. Meanwhile, Van den Bergh had won a major and moved up to the top ten of the world rankings and Kim Huybrechts was still a top 32 player. In their first group match, the Belgians defeated Finland 4-0. However, it was clear to everyone that things were seriously skewed between the two, as on stage they did not give each other a glance.

Afterwards, there was much talk on social media and in the Belgian (and by extension international) press about the lack of communication between the two Belgians. Mac Elkin (Dimitri's manager and Kim's former manager) brought both Belgians together and the outcome of that conversation was that for the rest of the tournament they would put their mutual worries aside for a while and get back to normal against each other. So they did and Belgium defeated China in the second group match to advance to the knockout stage.

There followed some tremendous thrillers. In the second round the Netherlands were beaten 8-7 and in the quarter-finals the Australians were also beaten by the same score. Belgium again reached the semi-finals, but this time against Wales they were on the wrong side of the score with 8-7.

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Ambitions

For a long time this year, it was doubtful who would play alongside Belgium's number one Van den Bergh for Belgium at the World Cup of Darts. After all, during a brawl in early May after the soccer match Antwerp-Union, Kim Huybrechts (still the Belgian number two in the world rankings) suffered a double collarbone fracture. It became a race against time to get fit for the World Cup of Darts, but he succeeded in his goal.

Belgium, the fifth seed at this year's World Cup of Darts, is assigned to a group with Singapore and the Philippines. By no means a group to underestimate! Singapore has the experienced duo of Paul and Harith Lim, although both players seem to have their best time behind them. But especially Philippines seems to be a particularly tough match. Christian Perez is the first player from that country to win a Tour Card and already showed his skills at the World Darts Championship. He forms a duo with Alexis Toylo, the current leader on the PDC Asian Tour and someone who does not hesitate to throw high averages. Belgium obviously remains favorite against both countries, but especially in a short format (best-of-7 legs) you cannot afford to miss.

Moreover, it will be looking forward to how both Belgians will behave on the stage this year. After all, in a recent interview, Van den Bergh indicated that he and Kim Huybrechts are still not talking to each other. If they can shake off that feud again during the tournament, Belgium is and will remain a contender for the title. After all, outside of the countries that have ever won the tournament, Belgium is the country that has performed best in the history of the World Cup of Darts.

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