Once upon a time, Dimitri Van den Bergh was the golden child of darts – the man who waltzed his way to two PDC majors while everyone else was left wondering how somebody could look so cheerful while dismantling them on stage. Fast forward to now, and apparently the only thing he’s dismantling is his own throw.
According to Vincent van der Voort, the Belgian’s game isn’t just off – it’s gone on holiday, filed for divorce, and left a note on the fridge saying goodbye.
On the Darts Draait Door podcast, Van der Voort as always pulled no punches. Fresh off the Flanders Darts Trophy qualifier – where Dimitri contrived to lose to Ronny Huybrechts – he described the performance as the darting equivalent of forgetting how to ride a bike, then falling face-first into the handlebars:
“He’s lost it. His arrows weren’t flying well, they were flat in the board. His throw was just not good. Everything was wrong with that.”
The tragedy here is that Dimitri clearly knows he’s floundering. Van der Voort described him trying everything mid-match, which is always code for a professional throwing like a bloke who’s just picked up a set of pub darts after six pints. One moment he’s lobbing it, the next he’s smacking it in flat. Literally all over the place – and that’s where the Dreammaker is right now.
Van der Voort’s solution? Coaching. Actual coaching:
“He needs to get back to basics. Play small tournaments, get the feeling back.”. Which is the Dutchman’s way of saying, forget the bright lights, mate – try winning in your local working men’s club first.
And then there’s the equipment saga. Like so many players, Dimitri apparently decided to tinker with his darts, and now he’s adjusting his throw to match the new setup. According to Van der Voort, that’s basically the darting equivalent of changing your car tyres and then learning to drive all over again. Signing, Vincent added:
“He’s had so much success with that throw. By adjusting it, sooner or later it’s going to go wrong.” Spoiler alert: it already has.
To be fair, Dimitri isn’t the only big name having a meltdown right now. The list of struggling stars reads like a who’s who of modern darts: Van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Michael Smith, Joe Cullen, Raymond van Barneveld, Dave Chisnall… At this point, the only people playing consistently are the teenagers who haven’t yet developed the common sense to panic.
So yes, Dimitri Van den Bergh still has his World Cup slot, but for the rest of the year he looks destined to sit out most of the major TV events. Perhaps that’s not the worst thing – fewer cameras on him. But unless the Dreammaker can stop tinkering, ditch the lob-throw, and rediscover the basics, the only dancing he’ll be doing is a slow shuffle out of relevance.
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
