World Cup of Darts team-mates ignored each other on stage as feud escalated

Daily Mirror

19 hours ago

Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts formed one of the most explosive partnerships in World Cup of Darts history, but they won't play together at the 2025 event
One of the most infamous pairings in World Cup of Darts history has been broken up. For the first time at the event, which is underway in Frankfurt, Belgian No.1 Dimitri Van den Bergh and World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker have teamed up for their country as they bid to topple overwhelming favourites, Luke Littler and Luke Humphries of England.
At the last two tournaments, Van den Bergh has been paired with Kim Huybrechts, with dramatic and hilarious consequences. Prior to the start of the 2023 event, unbeknownst to most observers, the pair had had a spectacular falling out and were not on speaking terms.
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And they made no secret of their animosity towards each other during their opening match, a 4-0 win against Finland. The pair couldn't even bring themselves to look at each other during the tie.
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At the end of the game, there was no handshake or hug. Instead, as Van den Bergh danced around the stage in customary fashion, Huybrechts made a hasty exit. Realising they had embarrassed themselves and Belgian darts, the pair released a statement, vowing to put on a more united front in their next matches. The statement said: 'Following last night's win at the My Diesel Claim World Cup of Darts, we have sat down to discuss our recent differences.
'Whilst some issues remain to be resolved in the fullness of time, we are both fully committed to doing our best as a team to win the World Cup of Darts for Belgium, and to represent ourselves, our families and our country in the best light. That begins with tonight's game against China, and our focus is now on preparing for that match as a team."
Amid speculation over the root of their feud, there were claims it stemmed from Van den Bergh making a complaint to the PDC about Huybrechts. The pair did indeed manage to put their differences aside for the rest of the tournament.
Having given each other the cold shoulder, the pair looked like bosom buddies in their following matches. High-fives and hugs were suddenly the order of the day, much to the amusement of watching fans.
Their newfound camaraderie threatened to take them all the way, but eventual champions Wales ended their dramatic run at the semi-final stage. However, that run failed to bring them closer together and on the eve of last year's tournament, Van den Bergh revealed that he and Huybrechts were still at odds.
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He told Sky Sports: 'I wasn't interested in anything of that. Everybody needs to know that me and Kim are not best friends, and that's period.'
As a result, speculation was rife over how they could co-exist at the 2024 event. Speaking after their group stage win over Singapore, Van den Bergh attempted to play down their rift, saying: 'We're here for Belgium. We have learned a lot from last year. We haven't showed the best in the first game last year and this year we're in the position to say we've got to grow up, we've got to be adults.
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'We've got a whole load of pressure on ourselves. What is that, our national colours. That means so much more to us as a person and in that case that means even more to us as a country. That's what we're doing and need to be doing, and that's being professional.'
The pair made it through to the last four again, only to suffer a heavy defeat to Austria in what could be the last time they join forces following the emergence of De Decker, who is now Belgium's top-ranked player, just ahead of Van den Bergh, while Huybrechts has tumbled down the rankings.
This year, fifth seeds Belgium are in Group B with Latvia and the Philippines. The winners of each group advance to the second round, where the top four seeds, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, enter the competition.