"It just all became too much" - Dimitri Van den Bergh honest about pre-World Championship struggles

Dimitri Van den Bergh has had a mixed year. The 30-year-old Belgian won the UK Open and reached the semifinals of the Masters and the World Grand Prix, but at many other tournaments, he went down in the first round. After a welcome period of rest, the Belgian number one starts his 2025 World Darts Championship campaign on Sunday, December 22nd.

Van den Bergh did not get much action in recent months; as he explains himself, it all became too much for him. As the energy was no longer there to provide the desired performance, Van den Bergh pulled the emergency brake. "The past year and a half I was throwing non-stop," he tells HLN. "For the first time in my career I pulled out of a few tournaments. And I'm not the only one. It became 'too much'. It's getting busier and busier." 

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For many years, Van den Bergh was an ever-present at almost all PDC events he could play in. As he touched upon though, in recent years, the schedule has just been getting busier and busier. "The Dimitri of then can't be compared to the Dimitri of now," he assesses. "I live a different life. I have a family with a fantastic daughter, we now have our own place together, I have a new sponsor.... And I've also gained some pounds."

Dimitri Van den Bergh in action

With Kim Huybrechts and Mike De Decker, two of the three Belgians at the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship have already been eliminated in their opening match. The pressure is therefore mounting on Van den Bergh to fly the flag for Belgium. But "The Dreammaker," who starts the Worlds as the 11th seed and will take on the winner of the duel between William O'Connor and Dylan Slevin on Sunday night, is tempering expectations. "Hopefully I can return after Christmas," he says modestly. "But the thing is, next year I definitely have to play a much better year."

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