Dimitri Van den Bergh
Van den Bergh in 2021
Personal information
Full nameDimitri Barbara Peter Van den Bergh[1]
Nickname"The Dreammaker"
Born (1994-07-08) 8 July 1994 (age 29)
Antwerp, Belgium
Home townSint-Truiden, Belgium
Darts information
Darts23g Target Signature Gen 2
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Happy" by Pharrell Williams
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO2012–2013
PDC2013–
(Tour Card: 2015-)
Current world ranking7 Increase 7 (3 March 2024)[2]
WDF major events – best performances
World MastersLast 256: 2013
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipSemi Final: 2023
World MatchplayWinner (1): 2020
World Grand PrixQuarter Final: 2022
UK OpenWinner (1): 2024
Grand SlamSemi Final: 2020
European Ch'shipLast 16: 2022
Premier League5th: 2021
PC FinalsLast 16: 2022, 2023
MastersSemi Final: 2024
World Series FinalsRunner Up: 2021
Other tournament wins
Hemeco Open Rosmalen 2016
PDC Challenge Tour 2013

Players Championships

Players Championship (BAR) 2021
Players Championship (NIE) 2021

World Series of Darts

Dutch Darts Masters 2022
Nordic Darts Masters 2022

Youth events

PDC World Youth Championship 2017, 2018
PDC Development Tour 2014 (x3), 2015 (x2)
2016, 2017, 2018 (x2)
British Teenage Open 2013
Other achievements
2016 Breaks into the top 64 on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time

2018 Hits first televised nine-dart leg at 2018 Grand Slam of Darts against Stephen Bunting[3]

2020 Wins first ranked PDC premier title. Moves into top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time
Medal record
Men's Darts
Representing  Belgium
EDF European Ch'ship
Gold medal – first place 2017 Podčetrtek Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 2017 Podčetrtek Men's cricket

Dimitri Van den Bergh (born 8 July 1994) is a Belgian professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked No. 7 in the world. Nicknamed "The Dreammaker", he is a two-time World Youth Champion, the 2020 World Matchplay champion, after beating Gary Anderson 18–10 in the final, in his first time competing in the Matchplay, and also the reigning UK Open Champion, after beating Luke Humphries 11–10 in the final.

Career

BDO

In 2013, Van den Bergh won the British Teenage Open by beating Billy Longshaw 3–0 in the final.[4] Two months later he claimed the 16th PDC Challenge Tour event of the year by whitewashing Exmouths Charlie Tate 4–0.[5]

PDC

2014

In 2014, he entered Q School in an attempt to earn a PDC tour card, but he couldn't advance beyond the last 64 in any of the four days. However, he was granted PDPA Associate Member status for participating which gave him entry into UK Open and European tour qualifiers.[6] Van den Bergh qualified for the first European Tour event, the German Darts Championship and lost 6–2 in the first round against Ronnie Baxter despite averaging 102.94.[7] Van den Bergh won three youth tour titles during the year and also reached the last 16 of the Under-21 World Championship, where he lost 6–3 to Robinson.[8] He finished top of the Youth Tour Order of Merit which earned him a two-year card for the main PDC tour by [9]

2015

Van den Bergh claimed two Development Tour titles in 2015.[10] He reached the last 16 of a PDC event for the first time at the third Players Championship event, but lost 6–5 to Mensur Suljović.[11] Van den Bergh was also knocked out in the second round of three European Tour events.[10] He qualified for the inaugural World Series of Darts Finals but was beaten 6–3 by Max Hopp in the first round in what was Van den Bergh's televised debut.[12][13]

2016

He qualified for the 2016 World Championship through the European Pro Tour Order of Merit and danced on to the stage before his first round encounter with Ian White.[14] Van den Bergh missed four darts for the first set, but went on to win 3–1 taking out four ton-plus finishes during the match.[15] He lost 4–2 to Benito van de Pas in the following round.[16] Van den Bergh won the 14th Development Tour event by overcoming Steve Lennon 4–2.[17] At the 15th Players Championship tournament Van den Bergh reached the semi-finals of a main tour event for the first time with wins over Devon Petersen, Jan Dekker, Ronny Huybrechts, Chris Dobey and Cristo Reyes, but he lost 6–2 to Michael van Gerwen.[18] In the semi-finals of the World Youth Championship, Van den Bergh was beaten 6–3 by Corey Cadby.[19] He won a place at the Grand Slam by coming through the qualifying event and edged his first group match 5–4 over Gerwyn Price.[20] Van den Bergh was then beaten 5–4 by Robert Thornton, but after defeating Scott Waites 5–4 in the final group game it meant he was tied with Thornton on points and leg difference. This meant a nine-dart shoot-out was required to decide who would advance to the knock-out stage and Thornton won by 345 points to 340.[21]

2017

Van den Bergh's first round match at the 2017 World Championship went to a deciding set and was on throw, but he missed two darts at double eight to send it to a tie-break, allowing Cristo Reyes to step in and win 3–2.[22] At the end of the year, Van den Bergh became World Youth Champion by defeating Josh Payne 6–3 in the final. He would defend his title the following year by defeating Germany's Martin Schindler in the final.

2018

At the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship, Van den Bergh reached the quarter-finals for the first time, where he lost 5–4 to eventual champion Rob Cross in a tight match. Van den Bergh's debut in the World Series of Darts came with a stellar performance in the 2018 German Darts Masters where he lost in the final to Mensur Suljović 2–8 after defeating Michael van Gerwen 8–3 in the quarter-final and Gary Anderson 8–7 in the semi-final.[23]

2019

At the 2019 PDC World Darts Championship, Van den Bergh lost 4–1 to Luke Humphries in the third round. Following Gary Anderson's withdrawal from the 2019 Premier League, Van den Bergh was selected as one of nine 'contenders' to replace him. He would play a one-off match against James Wade on night eight in Rotterdam, recording a 6–6 draw. Van den Bergh reached two Players Championship Finals, but lost in both to Glen Durrant and Krzysztof Ratajski respectively. Later in the year, he would qualify for the World Grand Prix for the first time, but he let a 1–0 lead slip and eventually lost 2–1 to Mervyn King. In the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship, Van den Bergh scored high averages in defeating Josh Payne, Luke Woodhouse and Adrian Lewis, before losing to Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals.

2020

At the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship, Van den Bergh reached the quarter-finals for the second time, there he lost to Nathan Aspinall 5–3. In March he reached the quarter-finals of the UK Open before succumbing to Gerwyn Price. Then, after spending the whole first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the UK, staying at Peter Wright's house, Van den Bergh pulled off the biggest achievement of his career by winning the 2020 World Matchplay on his debut, after defeating Nathan Aspinall, Joe Cullen, Adrian Lewis, Glen Durrant and Gary Anderson to win the £115,000 top prize, and move him into the Top 10 in the world for the first time.

2021

At the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship, Van den Bergh lost 4–2 in the fourth round to Dave Chisnall. In defence of his World Matchplay title, he reached the final, before losing 18–9 to Peter Wright

Van den Bergh qualified for the 2021 Nordic Darts Masters where he defeated Sweden's Johan Engström 6-4 in the first round, and defeated Gary Anderson 10-8 in the quarter finals before he lost to Fallon Sherrock 11-10 in the semi-finals.

2022

At the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship, Van den Bergh suffered a shock second round defeat to Florian Hempel.[24] At the Masters he reached the second round, defeating Ian White 6-1 in round 1 with a 105.31 average, but then losing 10-9 to Jonny Clayton in round 2. [25][26] In June 2022, Van den Bergh won the 2022 Nordic Darts Masters, defeating Benjamin Drue Reus, Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith en route to a final against Gary Anderson which the Belgian won 11–4.[27]

2023

At the 2023 PDC World Championship, Van den Bergh reached the quarterfinals for the third time and was finally able to progress further, seeing off Jonny Clayton 5-3, and as a result became the first Belgian player to reach the semi-finals of a PDC World Championship.[28] before succumbing to a 6–0 defeat to Michael van Gerwen.[29] In the same year, he and Kim Huybrechts represented Belgium on the World Cup of Darts. However, the two darters seemed to ignore each other during their first game. According to several media, the two players were having an unknown conflict, which they did not solve before the match started. Van den Bergh and Huybrechts did not really explain their behaviour after the game. [30]

2024

Van den Bergh won his second major title at the 2024 UK Open, beating World Champion Luke Humphries in a deciding leg in the final.[31]

World Championship performances

PDC

Career finals

PDC major finals: 4 (2 title, 2 runner-up)

Legend
World Matchplay (1–1)
UK Open (1–0)
World Series of Darts Finals (0–1)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[a]
Winner 1. 2020 World Matchplay Scotland Gary Anderson 18–10 (l)
Runner-up 1. 2021 World Matchplay Scotland Peter Wright 9–18 (l)
Runner-up 2. 2021 World Series of Darts Finals Wales Jonny Clayton 6–11 (l)
Winner 2. 2024 UK Open  Luke Humphries 11–10 (l)

PDC world series finals: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-up)

Legend
World Series of Darts (2–2)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[a]
Runner-up 1. 2018 German Darts Masters Austria Mensur Suljović 2–8 (l)
Winner 1. 2022 Nordic Darts Masters Scotland Gary Anderson 11–5 (l)
Winner 2. 2022 Dutch Darts Masters Netherlands Dirk van Duijvenbode 8–2 (l)
Runner-up 2. 2023 Poland Darts Masters Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 3–8 (l)

Performance timeline

Tournament 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Ranked televised events
PDC World Championship DNQ 2R 1R QF 3R QF 4R 2R SF 2R
UK Open Did not qualify 1R 6R QF 4R 5R SF W
World Matchplay Did not qualify W F SF 2R
World Grand Prix Did not qualify 1R 2R 1R QF 1R
European Championship DNQ 1R DNQ 1R DNQ 2R 1R
Grand Slam of Darts DNQ RR DNQ QF RR SF WD DNQ
Players Championship Finals DNQ 2R DNQ 1R 1R 1R 2R 3R 3R
Non-ranked televised events
Premier League Darts Did not play C DNP 5th DNP 6th DNP
The Masters Did not qualify 1R 2R 1R SF
PDC World Cup of Darts Did not play SF QF SF 2R QF SF
World Series of Darts Finals DNQ 1R DNQ QF 1R DNQ 1R F 2R QF
PDC World Youth Championship 3R 1R SF W W Did not play
Career statistics
Year-end ranking NR 59 51 39 33 29 9 9 11 14


PDC European Tour

Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
2014 GDC
1R 		DDM
2R 		GDM
DNQ 		ADO
DNQ 		GDT
2R 		EDO
DNQ 		EDG
DNQ 		EDT
2R
2015 GDC
DNQ 		GDT
2R 		GDM
DNQ 		DDM
1R 		IDO
DNQ 		EDO
2R 		EDT
DNQ 		EDM
2R 		EDG
DNQ
2016 DDM
1R 		GDM
1R 		GDT
DNQ 		EDM
DNQ 		ADO
2R 		EDO
2R 		IDO
DNQ 		EDT
2R 		EDG
DNQ 		GDC
DNQ
2017 GDC
2R 		GDM
DNQ 		GDO
3R 		EDG
2R 		GDT
3R 		EDM
DNQ 		ADO
1R 		EDO
3R 		DDM
DNQ 		GDG
DNQ 		IDO
1R 		EDT
1R
2018 EDO
1R 		GDG
DNQ 		GDO
2R 		ADO
3R 		EDG
1R 		DDM
DNQ 		GDT
DNQ 		DDO
DNQ 		EDM
DNQ 		GDC
DNQ 		DDC
DNQ 		IDO
DNQ 		EDT
DNQ
2019 EDO
3R 		GDC
2R 		GDG
DNQ 		GDO
2R 		ADO
DNQ 		EDG
2R 		DDM
DNQ 		DDO
DNQ 		CDO
DNQ 		ADC
2R 		EDM
DNQ 		IDO
2R 		GDT
2R
2020 BDC
2R 		GDC
DNQ 		EDG
DNQ 		IDO
DNQ
2021 HDT
DNQ 		GDT
DNQ
2022 IDO
QF 		GDC
SF 		GDG
2R 		ADO
2R 		EDO
F 		CDO
3R 		EDG
2R 		DDC
2R 		EDM
3R 		HDT
2R 		GDO
F 		BDO
2R 		GDT
2R
2023 BSD
3R 		EDO
3R 		IDO
2R 		GDG
2R 		ADO
DNQ 		DDC
2R 		BDO
2R 		CDO
3R 		EDG
2R 		EDM
3R 		GDO
DNQ 		HDT
DNQ 		GDC
DNQ
Performance Table Legend
W Won the tournament F Finalist SF Semifinalist QF Quarterfinalist #R
RR
L# 		Lost in # round
Round-robin
Last # stage 		DQ Disqualified
DNQ Did not qualify DNP Did not participate WD Withdrew NH Tournament not held NYF Not yet founded

Nine-dart finishes

See also: Nine-dart finish
Dimitri Van den Bergh televised nine-dart finishes
Date Opponent Tournament Method Prize
14 November 2018 England Stephen Bunting Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 £25,000

Notes

  1. ^ a b (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

References

  1. ^ @DanDartsDawson (April 20, 2021). "Evidence. The man top of the @unibet..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 3 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Dimitri Van den Bergh hits a nine-darter at Grand Slam of Darts". SKY Sports. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  4. ^ "2013 British Teenage Open Results". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  5. ^ "2013 PDC Challenge Tour England Results". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  6. ^ "2014 PDC Qualifying School Day Four". PDC. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  7. ^ "German Darts Championship Round One". PDC. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  8. ^ "2014 PDC Under 21 World Championship Results". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Brown & Reynolds Earn Youth Wins". PDC. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  10. ^ a b "Dimitri van den Bergh 2015". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  11. ^ "2015 PDPA Players Championship Barnsley Results". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  12. ^ "2015 World Series Of Darts Finals Qualifier Results". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  13. ^ "2015 World Series Of Darts Finals Results". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  14. ^ "2016 PDC World Championship Qualifiers". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  15. ^ "William Hill World Championship Day Three". PDC. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  16. ^ "William Hill World Championship Day Nine". PDC. Archived from the original on 28 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  17. ^ "Dean & Dimitri's Development Tour Wins". PDC. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  18. ^ "Nine-Dart van Gerwen's Barnsley Double". PDC. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  19. ^ "2016 PDC Youth World Championship Results". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  20. ^ "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam Day One". PDC. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  21. ^ "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam Day Four". PDC. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  22. ^ "William Hill World Championship Day Three". PDC. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  23. ^ "Super Suljovic's German Darts Masters Glory".
  24. ^ "Cazoo World Darts Championship".
  25. ^ "Van den Bergh & Whitlock shine on Ladbrokes Masters Day One".
  26. ^ "Whitlock KO's Wright to reach Ladbrokes Masters quarter-finals".
  27. ^ "Van den Bergh dominates in Denmark to claim Nordic Darts Masters glory". www.pdc.tv. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  28. ^ "Van den Bergh hoping to make his dream 'a reality' at Ally Pally". www.pdc.tv. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  29. ^ "Van Gerwen and Smith to collide in blockbuster World Championship final". www.pdc.tv. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  30. ^ sportredactie, Door onze (2023-06-16). "Belgische teamgenoten negeren elkaar compleet bij zege op World Cup of Darts". NU (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  31. ^ Gorton, Josh (3 March 2024). "Van den Bergh topples Humphries to claim UK Open glory". PDC. Retrieved 3 March 2024.

External links

Top 20 PDC darts players in Order of Merit
PDC Roll of Honour
Categories