"Unfortunately for Luke Humphries he's living in Luke Littler's shadow" - Fighting talk from Dimitri van den Bergh ahead of World Matchplay quarterfinal

Dimitri Van den Bergh continued his love affair with the World Matchplay on Tuesday night. For the fourth time in five years, the 2020 World Matchplay champion is into the quarter-finals. 'The Dreammaker' was an 11-5 winner against last year's losing finalist, Jonny Clayton in the second round.

"I'm exhausted," admitted Van den Bergh post-match. "I tried my hardest and I never gave up. I hit some big shots under pressure, I never thought I would beat Jonny 11-5 in this format, he is an amazing player. It's not about who's in front of me, it's about what I need to do to get the best out of myself."

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Things don't get any easier for Van den Bergh though. Next up he will take on the world number one, world champion and tournament favourite, Luke Humphries in the quarterfinals. It will be a replay of the UK Open final earlier this year and the Belgian will be buoyed by the fact he actually beat Humphries in that final to secure his second major title.

"I have to believe that I can do it again (beat Humphries). If I can go into a preparation where I say; 'I can give him a game', that's a big positive," Van den Bergh explains in his post-match press conference. "Unfortunately for Luke Humphries,  I'm just going to point this out now, he is the world champion and he's living in Luke Littler's shadow. That's something that has never happened before in the the past."

Dimitri Van den Bergh in action at the World Matchplay

Humphries returned to their UK Open final in early March in his own press conference following a second-round victory against Stephen Bunting. He said he is not worried about whether or not Van den Bergh would slow the game down during their match after the controversial scenes at thr end of the UK Open final. Moreover, Humphries thinks Van den Bergh is better when he throws faster.

"This is the thing. Whoever's speaking about me, whoever's thinking about the way I handle my stuff, have got no knowledge of what's actually going on in my mind," Van den Bergh responds fiercely. "Luke is rhythm, Luke is pace and I think for him, that is the biggest issue he can have. I've got nothing to worry about, but if I do have now and then take an extra minute, that means that I know I'm under pressure because it isn't going my way."

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