Vincent van der Voort has expressed understanding for Dimitri Van den Bergh’s decision to avoid the media after a dramatic World Cup of Darts opener. Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast alongside Damian Vlottes, Van der Voort discussed the Belgian team’s turbulent tournament, which saw Van den Bergh record an embarrassing average of just 65 in their opening match. The Dreammaker notably did not appear in front of VTM’s camera afterward, leaving Mike De Decker to handle media duties alone.
“That tells you how deeply it affected Dimitri,” said Van der Voort. “There's also a certain amount of shame involved. I've experienced that myself.” He cited a personal experience from his own career, when he played Kim Huybrechts at the Grand Slam of Darts while suffering from severe back pain. “I had so much pain in my back. After three legs, I don't think I'd hit a single treble. You feel embarrassed. Everybody is watching and you're thinking, 'This can't be happening. This is so bad.'” That was precisely why he understood Van den Bergh’s choice: “You feel it yourself as well. So I can understand why he didn't want to speak to the cameras afterwards and pretend everything was fine.”
Despite his struggles, Van den Bergh returned to the stage less than 16 hours later full of energy and dancing. “It is remarkable,” said Van der Voort. “Not even 15 or 16 hours later he's back on stage dancing as if nothing happened. He seemed to process it very quickly.” Van der Voort noted that Van den Bergh is naturally a very positive person, contrasting him with Raymond van Barneveld, who can carry a bad experience for a while. “Dimitri is a positive lad by nature. So he recovers faster than, for example, our Barney. That’s just how it is.” He believes Van den Bergh must have done something in those 15 hours to improve his game, as there was a huge improvement afterward.
Belgium survived the group stage by the narrowest margin, needing a helping hand from elsewhere. Hong Kong seemed on course for qualification for a long time, but Lok Yin Lee missed a few doubles. “Hong Kong must have been sick about that because, realistically, they should have gone through,” said Van der Voort. The surprise at the outcome was considerable, even within the Belgian camp. “I said to Quinn (Sneeboer) this weekend: if I were Mike De Decker or Dimitri, I'd already have been in the car on the way home.” Van der Voort added, “At the very least my suitcase would have been packed. I'd be interested to know whether they had already started packing.”
Belgium eventually went out in the second round against Northern Ireland, but the tie produced one of the most attractive matches of the tournament. Mike De Decker in particular impressed. “Mike De Decker was brilliant in the scoring phase,” said Van der Voort, who believes De Decker may be Belgium’s biggest winner from this World Cup. “He can take a lot from this World Cup. Even more than Dimitri.” Despite elimination, both Van der Voort and Vlottes believe the Belgians did not head home without confidence. “I think if they could have continued immediately, they might have won that match. They were really in a rhythm,” said Van der Voort. However, he also saw De Decker fade a little towards the end, while Van den Bergh handled it reasonably well. “The reality is that neither of them is in top form right now, so things like that happen.” Still, Van der Voort saw reasons for optimism: “What they have seen, though, is that they can still make strong countries work very hard for a result. The level is there. It’s just not consistent yet. Now it's simply a matter of working hard to get back to their best. That doesn't happen in one tournament.”
