“They have built a serious reputation in the past”: Belgium remain World Cup of Darts contenders despite fractious relationship

The World Cup of Darts gets underway tonight in Frankfurt. Belgium, the fifth seed this year, will take on Singapore and the Philippines in the group stage.

The podcast'Double Top' discussed Belgium's chances at the World Cup of Darts. "That Kim and Dimitri are not the best of friends (anymore) is common knowledge," said VTM commentator Matthias De Vlieger. "But they do know perfectly well what they have in common on stage. Kim put it perfectly last year: 'I want to play together with the player Dimitri Van den Bergh, the rest doesn't interest me'."

"Moreover, they are used to pairing with each other, in the past they have quasi always performed very strongly at the World Cup of Darts," adds former participant Kurt Van de Rijck.

Belgium has been a losing finalist in the past and last year Van den Bergh and Huybrechts reached the semifinals. Since last year, only pair matches have also been played at the World Cup of Darts. "That's to their advantage," De Vlieger said. "Few other countries are as strong in pair matches."

"Besides, no one will want to face Belgium. They have built a serious reputation in the past and the other countries will certainly not have forgotten that."