Belgium's Dimitri van Den Bergh speaks exclusively to bet365 ahead of the forthcoming World Cup of Darts and reveals his burning desire to take the coveted title back to his homeland for the first time.
Few, if any, nations have suffered the same World Cup of Darts anguish as 22/1 hopefuls Belgium over the past decade.
Five semi-finals,
three quarter-finals,
and one final…
…yet that elusive wait for a first world title still goes on!
Since being beaten by the English pairing of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis in the 2013 showpiece, Belgium have only once failed to reach the last eight.
In fact, on the back of that painful 2013 loss in Hamburg, the European nation have remarkably only been beaten by either the eventual champions or the runners-up.
It’s taken a valiant effort to see off the gutsy, courageous and talented Belgian team – one that now possesses two bona-fide heavyweights of the sport in world number 10 van Den Bergh and former World Championship quarter-finalist Kim Huybrechts.
“I’ve always loved playing for my country – I love this competition,” van Den Bergh exclusively told bet365 in the build-up to the event, which gets underway on Thursday.
“We 100 percent want to take the World Cup trophy back to Belgium. It’s something that we always talk about.
“It’s just every year there seems to be something incredibly special that stops us from doing that.
“Fantastic averages have been thrown against us to beat us and it just seems as though we are always being beaten by the eventual winners.
“We talk about wanting to win this, we say to each other that it is exactly what we are going to do, and I really believe that this year we will go really close.”
Belgium are the heavy 1/8 favourites to secure top spot in Group A and navigate a safe passage through to the second round of the competition.
But van Den Bergh is taking absolutely nothing for granted as he and his teammate gear up for their forthcoming ‘Doubles only’ showdowns with group outsiders Finland (15/2) and China (9/1).
“We’re always level-headed – every game is tough, and there is always an expectancy when you are playing for your country,” the 2020 World Matchplay winner added.
“I don’t feel any additional pressure from that though; in fact, I actually just feel even more motivated to do well.
“The moment that the announcer calls out Belgium, and you are walking down to the stage in your nation’s colours, it just gives me an extra buzz and Goosebumps.
“I want to make the supporters proud because I am already proud, in terms of just being there and representing them. We’re desperate to win the World Cup for our country.”
Belgium’s Decade of World Cup agony:
| 2022: | QF – lost to Australia 2-1 (champions) |
| 2021: | R2 – lost to Austria (runners-up) |
| 2020: | SF – lost to England (runners-up) |
| 2019: | QF – lost to Scotland (champions) |
| 2018: | SF – lost to Netherlands (champions) |
| 2017: | SF – lost to Wales (runners-up) |
| 2016: | SF – lost to Netherlands (runners-up) |
| 2015: | SF – lost to England (champions) |
| 2014: | QF – lost to Netherlands (champions) |
| 2013: | Final – lost to England (champions) |
Watch the full, exclusive interview with Dimitri van Den Bergh at the top of the page.
View the latest odds ahead of the World Cup of Darts
