Van den Bergh frustrated about start of ProTour season: "I work hard and I am not immediately rewarded for it"

Dimitri van den Bergh took an important step in his darts career on Friday as he has moved to Leicester, England to fully concentrate on his career.

Van den Bergh moves with his girlfriend Evi and as he has stated previously, it makes sense to give it a go.

"About eighty percent of my tournaments are in England. It is always such a hassle to travel from Belgium to England, now certainly with corona. All those hours in the car. Hence the move. I want to test whether it breathes life into my career and will help me to reach a higher level. Of course I will return to Belgium during free weeks to visit my family and friends," said Van den Bergh at Het Nieuwsblad. 

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Last week, some darts players came into the news who were approached by match fixers via social media.

"I was really surprised", says Van den Bergh. "And I am even more surprised that there are players who let themselves be caught by it. I myself have never been approached. And if that is the case, they are also unlucky as I immediately put my manager or the police on it.

"People who want to try stay away, I have invested so many years in my career and worked so hard that I am not going to let myself be caught out."

Frustrating period behind us

He was operated on at the beginning of February to alleviate a knee injury and afterwards the results were below expectations.

“My knee is recovering well. I am certainly not 100 percent yet, but things are moving in the right direction. I cannot and should not be satisfied with the results. In eight days Pro Tour I have barely won three matches. That is not enough and that is quite frustrating. Especially because I work hard and I am not immediately rewarded for it."

"Although the results do not say everything. At times I reached a really high level, but that was not enough to make my opponent lose. I still believe in myself and tell myself that this cannot last. There will come a time when I will reap the benefits of that hard work. I'm convinced of that."