Kim Huybrechts heads into the World Matchplay this year with the continued narrative of his poor record in Blackpool where he has only won once.
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But having not played there in a few years, Huybrechts has a fresh mindset and is looking forward to his clash with Dave Chisnall.
"To be honest, it was a goal from the start of the season. I'm very happy to have reached it. I've been there every year since I started as a professional and then all of a sudden started to miss out on those tournaments so being back in the Winter Gardens is a very good feeling.
"The record isn't great indeed but I do love going to the Winter Gardens, there's a certain special atmosphere over there. It's a lovely venue, for some reason it hasn't clicked yet but I'm sure it will."
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German frustration
'The Hurricane' let his frustrations known recently at the German crowds after the World Cup of Darts and after letting the dust settle, he reiterated his point and believes that the European Tour calendar should be looked at.
"I still think it is the same. I was looking at Wimbledon the other day and there was a British player playing against Djokovic. They were so respectful for every point Djokovic made. I think at the moment in darts, it's very sad but you just don't get the respect from fans when you play a local player."
"The booing has to stop and the whistling and the name calling. I've been called names on stage for the first time in 10 years as a professional. It's going to get worse and worse. Players have to have a say in that and have to say this is enough."
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"It's not so intensive in England. It feels like in Germany, we have the most hostility. Also when you have to play the European Tour and you have got seven tournaments in Germany, I just don't think that's fair. It needs to be more spread out. Why don't we have three or four in Holland, why don't we have two in Austria, two or three in Belgium. Why does it have to be six or seven in Germany."
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Rise in Belgian darts
Wanting more tournaments in Belgium, Huybrechts believes that the rise in Belgian darts is seen in the numbers of those attending tournaments.
"At the moment, it's crazy. We literally haven't seen anything like it. We used to have small competitions where there was 30-40 players, now there's 200. It's just exploded in Belgium, it's a good feeling. It gives us more work over there, you have to be honest in that. There's some new talent coming through and that's important for the future of darts in Belgium."
"I think in future there will be more and more Belgians. If you look at a couple of years ago, it's between me, Ronny (Huybrechts) and Dimitri (Van den Bergh) then Mike (de Decker) up there now Brian (Raman), Geert (De Vos), Mario (Vandenbogaerde). There's more and more and in future you might see a couple more."
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But he has lost his Belgian number one spot to Dimitri van den Bergh which he admits has been difficult but that he has loftier ambitions ultimately.
"It's been hard. You're used to a certain status and you've lost that but Dimitri is doing amazing. It's difficult, I want to be the number one. I don't want to be the number one of Belgium per say but I want to be the number one of the world."
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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