"Especially important for my wife and little daughter" - Dimitri Van den Bergh explains choice to return to Belgium

Dimitri Van den Bergh is moving back to Belgium this week. 'The Dreammaker' has lived in England for the past three years.

Van den Bergh moved to England during the corona crisis, where he rented a house with Damon Heta. "Traveling then was a big disaster because of the restrictions and testing by Covid-19," Van den Bergh told HLN. "Damon was the perfect sparring partner to train and get us ready for tournaments. That still produced great results."

But now, Van den Bergh is returning to Belgium with his family. "We brought all our things in England to Belgium and we are now renting a house in Sint-Truiden. The feeling of home will be greater here, back to the country you know best and where our little daughter Oonah will go to school next year."

"We now have our place in Limburg. That brings a lot of peace and for Evi that is the best. I am still away a lot because of darts, here she has her family and best friends who also have children close by. That will make a lot of difference."

Van den Bergh will now have to deal with longer travel times, though. "From here to Brussels or Calais to go to England or London will take a little longer or I'll have to take a plane more, but that's not a disaster. It will be great for me to always be able to leave and come back from home without having to live in England in the middle of the year. We have this house all to ourselves now."

Van den Bergh's infant daughter is now two years old. "It's incredibly important that we can give her a foundation. That she can grow up as a little girl in her own bedroom and make messes with her own toys. She will have more contact with her family and that's better."

Ups and downs

The 29-year-old Belgian is not having the best year of his career. "As in any career, there are ups and downs, but I feel good. We play constantly, have a huge number of tournaments in a year. People don't always know what we all have to do and sacrifice behind the scenes. It's not a nine-to-five job. I'm very grateful to all the fans who continue to support me. I'm doing my best in all areas and trying to continue to build my career."