Defiant Dimitri Van den Bergh will handle being booed again with a trophy in his hands as he’s got dreams to fulfil and bills to pay.
The Belgian defends his UK Open darts title this weekend after a stunning 11-10 Final win over Luke Humphries 12 months ago bagged him the major prize.
However, it was not all plain-sailing as he was booed and jeered in the Minehead showpiece against Cool Hand by fans who accused him of slowing the game down. Van den Bergh was simply taking his time to ensure he was fully properly prepared for the big moments and admits he’ll do it all again if it means getting it right again at the key times.
He said: “Last year, definitely, there were a few moments where the crowd was booing me or trying to get me out of my focus. But that’s okay. They’re allowed to. Everybody has got their own opinion. I’m not the one to tell them what to do. The only thing I know is that when I’m on that stage, the only one that’s going to be throwing the darts is me and I’ll be the only one that’s going to be paying my bills.
“So for me, it’s fine. It’s their choices. And, at that same time, when it’s a big moment, I’ll make my choice. It’s either for them to understand how big the moment is in my career and if they don’t like it, what I’m doing, that’s okay. But I’ll just do whatever I do and be focused on what I need to get my best potential game out. I just can’t believe how fast the year went, it’s the UK Open again. It ain’t going to be easy because I’ve got a target on my back, but I’ve got my own dreams and goals to achieve as well.”
Van den Bergh goes into the event holding the silverware with a hot run to the semi-finals at The Masters to also back-up his belief. However, despite his threat, he feels underestimated in some quarters as he explained: “Yeah. Lately, I’ve been listening to a few podcasts and you just don’t hear your name too often, which I am surprised of because I was one of the best performers last year. I won a major, three semi-finals, a quarter-final.
“This year, I started off strong again with another semi-final in a major. So I just try to keep showing it to everybody. Over the last few years, there’s not many tournaments left where I haven’t been to the quarter-finals or better, so it would be nice to be a little bit more recognised I would like to win more, especially in majors. It would be nicer to have a couple of wins in a year in the season. Just to prove a point to myself. That’s, for me, the most important part.
“I want more out of the time and sacrifices that I do for the darts. It wouldn’t be bad to be recognised a lot more than I have in the past, but, if I’m not, then I’ll just keep trying to beat everybody under the radar.”
Van den Bergh’s mature approach comes from being 30 now. He’s moving into a fresh stage of his career as he explained: “Yeah, my life definitely has changed over the recent years. Obviously, I’m a dad now. I’m in my 30s, I have learned a lot in life. It is time to put all the years of experience, practice and the winnings to another level.
“It’s time to put it all together and step it up and that’s definitely always been my goal. I always wanted more. But, for some reason, it always has been a bit of a fight. But I don’t back down from a fight. I’m okay with that. There’s a whole lot more that I can achieve. It’s on us to work hard for it, grab it with both hands and be dedicated and try to make our dreams come true so I can provide for my family and protect my family.”
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