"I have to play with him, he has to play with me": Belgium pair insist personal issues won't affect World Cup of Darts bid

Belgium pairing Dimitri van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts defied checkouts of 151 and 110 from the legendary Paul Lim as they sealed a 4-2 win over Singapore to begin their World Cup of Darts campaign.

A leading theme of their campaign has been their personal differences. Going from the most friendly pair to not even speaking on stage last year, it is more of a normal tone this year albeit they are not friends and the differences still remain.

But Huybrechts in particular called on media to stop stirring the pot and that in his view, their own personal problems shouldn't be hung like dirty laundry out in the open.

"We're here for Belgium. We have learned a lot from last year. We haven't showed the best in the first game last year and this year we're in the position to say we've got to grow up. We've got a whole load of pressure on ourselves. What is that our national colours. That means so much more to us as a person and in that case that means even more to us as a country. That's what we're doing and need to be doing," said Van den Bergh.

"There's no question mark for us. We are here, we're at the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt. I have to play with him, he has to play with me. Whether we like it or not, there's no question mark. We are here to win it, we are here to go all the way. I'm not saying we will win it but we have one goal and I have to do it with him and he has to do it with me. The only question marks are from the media. That's it. There's no doubt I know he's going to do his best and I'm going to do my best. We are here for Belgium. I want to win it, he wants to win it. We are not here for fun or to make friends. We are here to represent our country and be professional and I hope everybody around us is going to be professional," said Huybrechts.

"I read media a lot. There's a lot are they going to get along. Just stop it, we are here we are playing for Belgium. We are going to do our best, we are going to get along on stage. Nobody has business what goes on behind the stage and what goes on there. As long as we do it on stage, that's what we do," concluded Huybrechts.