Michael Smith and Dimitri Van den Bergh to miss out on the World Grand Prix: the reasons behind their absence
PDC
The World Grand Prix is a staple of the PDC darts calendar, featuring the best darters in the world competing for a prestigious TV title. However, this year's edition will not feature Michael Smith or Dimitri Van den Bergh.
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The duo have been an ever-present at the World Grand Prix for a period of time now, practically confirmed in them before a dart was even thrown. Not just that, but a few years ago they would be named as the front runners to lift the trophy, being named in the same selection as the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Gary Anderson, and now Luke Humphries and Luke Littler.
Smith is a former World Champion, defeating van Gerwen in the 2023 final whilst pinning a nine-darter. Just beforehand, he clinched the Grand Slam to secure his maiden major title. Pushed up to world number one, he was touted to continue his form and carry on to dominate the sport, something that had been expected for some time. But it has not worked out like that.
Van den Bergh is also a two-time major champion. He battered Anderson 18-10 in 2020 to win the World Matchplay in his debut. In 2024, he surprised the World Champion Humphries to triumph in the UK Open, along with making the semi-finals in the World Masters and World Grand Prix. A year on, he has almost vanished from the tour, a shell of his former self.
This shows that no matter how good your CV is, a drop off in form can lead to you misssing out on these big events. Smith and Van den Bergh have felt the full force of this.
Another big blow for Smith
Since fulfilling his dream at Alexander Palace, it has been a tough ride for Bully Boy. His level dropped throughout the 2023 campaign, unable to replicate the form of the year before, where he reached four major finals. Concerns started to crop up when he returned to Ally Pally at the start of 2024 to defend his title. He squeezed through his second round tie against Kevin Doets and was whitewashed by Chris Dobey in the fourth round in an uninspiring title defence.
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There were spurts of his previous form in 2024. This included reaching the World Series Finals final and semi-final appearances at the World Matchplay and in the Premier League, along with winning the World Cup with Humphries. The year ended in defeat in his opening tie at the Worlds, with Doets avenging the defeat a year on.
Michael Smith
Despite a downturn in form over those two years, 2025 is the year in which people have started to question Smith's future in the sport. Tumbling outside the top 16 after failing to defend the huge majority of his World Champs and Grand Slam winnings, his continued struggle with injuries took its toll. He is struggling with arthritis in his right wrist, culminating from breaking both his wrists when he was 19, as well as a grade two acromioclavicular joint injury in his shoulder.
These have caught up with him, and have seen him endure a barren run of results. Since reaching the UK Open quarter-final, he has failed to accumulate enough prize money to qualify for the World Matchplay for the first time since 2013. The prize money not collected in has had a kick on effect, leaving him in peril of missing out of the World Grand Prix for the first time since 2013.
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His Pro Tour and European Tour had been pretty lacklustre, reaching two semi-finals and a quarter-final on the floor among many early round exits, as well as just one quarter-final in Europe. Before the final two European Tour events in Budapest and Basel before the World Grand Prix, Smith was not automatically in. He would need to qualify for at least one of them and go on a deep run to catapult him up into the qualifying spaces.
He failed to qualify for both, forcing him to miss out on not just the event at Leicester, but the European Championships. Uncertain times for the former World number one.
Van den Bergh also missing out
Just under 18 months ago, the Belgian won his second major title. Now, he is missing out on yet another big TV tournament. But unlike Smith, it is not just due to his form on the oche.
He made it to the World Grand Prix semi-final last year, losing out to eventual winner Mike De Decker. He lost out early in the World Championships, but made it to the World Masters semi-final, confirming that he was playing some good darts. However, due to personal reasons, we have not seen the former Matchplay champion as much as we would have hoped.
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Dimitri Van den Bergh
Van den Bergh revealed that he started to experience burnout with darts and travelling, opting to take an elongated break from the sport due to the packed and demanding schedule. Adding to that, he has shifted his focus from darts to being a father after welcoming his second daughter in July, taking time off the tour to spend more time with his family.
This has led to the predictable outcome of him missing out on the TV major in October for the first time since 2018, ending six years in a row of featuring. It was not close, ranked 81st in the Pro Tour Order of Merit in the World Grand Prix race. He has not featured in a Euro Tour event since the start of April, and despite returning to the floor, he has not set the world alight, failing to go past the first round in the last four events.
It is unlikely we will see the Belgian until the World Championships at the end of the year, hopefully rejuvenated and prepared for a big 2026.
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Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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