“There's also a certain amount of shame involved” – Understanding for Van den Bergh’s decision to avoid the media after dramatic World Cup opener

The Belgian team experienced a turbulent World Cup of Darts. With a visibly struggling Dimitri Van den Bergh, a strong-performing Mike De Decker, and a narrow escape in the group stage, it was a tournament of extremes. In the Darts Draait Door podcast, Vincent van der Voort and Damian Vlottes discussed the Belgians’ performances at length. They covered not only the results, but also Van den Bergh’s mental state and how much confidence Belgium can take from this tournament.

One of the most talked-about moments of Belgium’s tournament came after a disappointing display by Dimitri Van den Bergh in their opening match. The Dreammaker recorded an embarrassing average of just 65, after which he notably did not appear in front of VTM’s camera. That responsibility fell entirely on Mike De Decker’s shoulders.

According to Van der Voort, that spoke volumes. “That tells you how deeply it affected Dimitri,” said the former professional. “There's also a certain amount of shame involved. I've experienced that myself.”

Van der Voort could easily relate to Van den Bergh’s situation. He cited a personal experience from his own career, when he played Kim Huybrechts at the Grand Slam of Darts while suffering from severe back pain.

“I had so much pain in my back. After three legs, I don't think I'd hit a single treble. You feel embarrassed. Everybody is watching and you're thinking, "This can't be happening. This is so bad.”

That was precisely why he understood Van den Bergh’s choice to avoid the media. “You feel it yourself as well. So I can understand why he didn't want to speak to the cameras afterwards and pretend everything was fine.”

Even so, Van den Bergh’s behavior the next day caused surprise. Not even sixteen hours after he seemed to be going through a rough patch, he returned to the stage full of energy and dancing. “It is remarkable,” said Van der Voort. “Not even 15 or 16 hours later he's back on stage dancing as if nothing happened. He seemed to process it very quickly.”

That naturally raises questions, according to the pair. “Dimitri is naturally a very positive person. Look at Raymond van Barneveld: if he has a bad experience, he can carry it around for a while. Dimitri tends to bounce back faster."

Van der Voort thinks the answer is probably somewhere in the middle. “Dimitri is a positive lad by nature. So he recovers faster than, for example, our Barney. That’s just how it is.” He believes Van den Bergh clearly found something in the hours between the two matches that improved his game. “He must have done something in those 15 hours because there was a huge improvement afterward.”

Belgium endured an extremely difficult start to the tournament. The group stage was survived, but it was anything but convincing. “They survived, but only just.,” Van der Voort summed up.

Belgium also needed a helping hand from elsewhere. In the decisive phase of the group, Hong Kong seemed on course for qualification for a long time. In the end, however, it turned out differently because chances went begging.

“It came down to Lok Yin Lee missing a few doubles. Hong Kong must have been sick about that because, realistically, they should have gone through.”

The surprise at the eventual outcome was considerable. Even within the Belgian camp, no one seemed to be fully counting on it anymore.“I said to Quinn (Sneeboer), this weekend and I said: if I were Mike De Decker or Dimitri, I'd already have been in the car on the way home.”

Van der Voort laughed about it himself. “At the very least my suitcase would have been packed. I'd be interested to know whether they had already started packing.”

That Hong Kong ultimately failed to progress came as a surprise to many. “It was a real shock that Hong Kong didn’t win in the end,” said Van der Voort. Especially because the team, in his view, had enough quality. “Man Lok Leung is just a very good darter. And so is Lok Yin Lee.”

That’s precisely why Van der Voort and Vlottes expected Hong Kong to get the win they needed. “You just expect them to win that match in the end.” That didn’t happen, allowing Belgium to escape and prepare for the knockout phase.

Northern Ireland awaited in the next round. Although Belgium were eventually eliminated, the tie produced one of the most attractive matches of the tournament. Mike De Decker in particular impressed. “Mike De Decker was brilliant in the scoring phase.”

For large parts of the match, the Belgian showed why he has become a mainstay at the highest level in recent years. According to Van der Voort, he may be Belgium’s biggest winner from this World Cup. “He can take a lot from this World Cup. Even more than Dimitri.”

Although Belgium ultimately lost to Northern Ireland, both Van der Voort and Vlottes believe Van den Bergh and De Decker did not head home without confidence. “I think if they could have continued immediately, they might have won that match. They were really in a rhythm,” said Van der Voort.

The Belgians, in his view, were well in the match and made a strong impression. Yet he also saw De Decker fade a little towards the end. “He let it slip a bit at the end.” Van den Bergh then picked it up reasonably well, he felt. “Dimitri handled it pretty okay.”

That immediately highlighted the key takeaway from Belgium’s campaign: both players still have a good level, but the form is currently lacking to show it consistently. “The reality is that neither of them is in top form right now, so things like that happen.”

Still, Van der Voort saw enough reasons for optimism. “What they have seen, though, is that they can still make strong countries work very hard for a result. The level is there.”

The main challenge, he says, is rediscovering the necessary consistency. “It’s just not consistent yet. Now it's simply a matter of working hard to get back to their best. That doesn't happen in one tournament.”