“It hurts a lot that I can’t feel that enjoyment right now” – Dimitri van den Bergh sets himself a telling goal after a difficult spell on the oche

Antwerp breathed darts last Thursday evening. The Premier League Darts touched down in the Scheldt city for the first time in its history, the birthplace of darts player Dimitri van den Bergh. But the very man who helped put Belgian darts on the map was not on stage.

“That hurts a lot on the inside,” said Van den Bergh, who was present in the arena, speaking to Viaplay. “But I’ve always been a lover of the sport. So even though I feel that pain myself, I still enjoy watching and experiencing it. And now it’s in my own country — in my own city where I was born.”

That the Premier League stopped in Belgium is no coincidence, according to Van den Bergh. It is the result of years of lobbying and growing interest since the Covid period.

“It’s taken a few years of development, really since Covid. Interest was strongly stimulated. We sat down with VTM and some of the executives there, and I put them directly in contact with Matthew Porter in a meeting. By the end of that week, darts was being broadcast on Belgian television. From there, it just kept growing.”

The figures speak for themselves. “Now, with 10,000 people here today — that’s the result. It’s fantastic..” And the atmosphere? It was exuberant. “They’ve already done the Mexican Wave a few times. I thought after one or two times they’d be done, but no — it went on for about fifteen minutes. I was thinking, what is going on here? Brilliant."

Still, it stings. No Van den Bergh, no other Belgian in the line-up. “last year Belgium had two major winners — Mike and myself. I also had a very good year in the majors. But for some reason, it wasn’t meant to be for either of us, and I was definitely disappointed about that last year."

The timing is harsh. Van den Bergh is going through a difficult spell, both on and off the oche. He is currently 26th on the world rankings and has a lot of prize money to defend in the coming months.

“that miserable feeling is still continuing,” he admits. “I’m working incredibly hard on it. I have my medical team; I’m trying everything to get myself back to where I want to be — back to where I dream of being. But right now, I still feel nailed to the ground. It still hurts a lot inside."

The reality is that Van den Bergh must defend key results, including his UK Open title two years ago and strong performances at other majors. “I’m far away from the majors at the moment, and I do have a lot to defend. I won the UK Open two years ago, reached the semi-finals of the Grand Prix against Mike."

He points out that not every tournament counts towards the world rankings. "The World Cup of Darts doesn’t count towards the ranking. So I don’t have to defend that, but I’ve had enough other good tournaments that I do need to defend."

His goal for this year is strikingly modest, yet telling: "Honestly, I want to still have my Tour Card at the end of the year so I can keep working on myself."

Van den Bergh stresses the problem isn’t technical. "I can still hit 15-darters, 11-darters, high finishes — I can still do all of that. It’s just the mental aspect where I need to become stronger." He then corrects himself after using the word ‘just’. “that wasn’t my best choice of words. It’s not 'just.' It’s incredibly tough to keep competing among the very best."

On the floor – the Pro Tour events without a crowd – he traditionally struggles more. On the big stage, at the TV majors, he usually flourished. "In the majors, I could always perform well. I don’t even know why it often felt easier there. The floor tournaments were always such a big challenge for me. I would think, “The board is still the same distance away, it’s still hanging at the same height.” I didn’t understand why it was so difficult, but I did have that problem."

Asked where exactly it goes wrong, he remains candid: “Welcome to my world, guys. At the moment, I don’t really know exactly where the problem lies myself.” Still, he isn’t standing still. “if you can’t figure it out yourself anymore, you need to look for support or bring in professionals. And I’m already doing that."

He realises modern darts demands more than just throwing well. “Living a healthy lifestyle is a big factor; it gives you so much more energy and makes you stronger mentally and physically."

He cites Gerwyn Price as an example. “I believe that’s something darts players should look at more closely. The Tour is incredibly tough, and you get so many opportunities. All aspects around darts need to be taken much more seriously. That’s my next step."

Perhaps the most poignant moment of the interview comes when he’s asked whether he still gets joy from darts. “For myself, at the moment, no," he says softly. “It hurts a lot that I can’t feel that enjoyment right now — that it doesn’t make me happy at the moment. I’ve been able to feel that for many years, and I hope to find it again."

He knows what’s at stake. “If you have to travel while knowing you’re in pain and not getting much enjoyment out of it, then you leave with a feeling of, “This doesn’t feel great.”

Yet there’s no resignation. Rather determination. “Why wouldn’t I be able to reach that level again? It would be crazy to say now that I can never throw that well again.” His words leave little doubt: he’s not done yet. “I want to come back stronger than before. That’s what I find most important.”