Hasselt hosted the first edition of the Belgian Darts Gala last Thursday. Some 5,000 elated fans turned up at the Trixxo Arena.
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Those also came, of course, for Dimitri Van den Bergh, still the Belgian number one in the world rankings. 'The Dreammaker,' who made it to the semifinals at the last PDC World Championship, received an award in Hasselt for 'Best Belgian darts performance in the past year'.
"However, the competition for that prize was fierce," said Van den Bergh. "Really gives me goosebumps about this."
At the Belgian Darts Gala, Van den Bergh did go down against Michael Smith. "I was really keen to throw great here, but I was so nervous. The atmosphere was hugely intimidating (laughs) and then you get your asses kicked hey by someone like Smith. But we're going to forget about that."
Michael van Gerwen was also present in Hasselt and could not resist teasing Van den Bergh. "Why are you talking so weird. I like that, a bit of banter. Especially with Dimitri, weird guy," said 'Mighty Mike'.
"I can always fool around with Dimi, that's part of it. But I want to knock him out again tonight. Although I think it's almost getting sad. The day he knocks me once will come. But I put it off as long as possible."
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.