The Dimitri Van den Bergh World Cup discussion has taken a fresh turn after Vincent van der Voort offered a sympathetic explanation for why the Belgian did not face television cameras following a painful opening night in Frankfurt.
Van den Bergh’s body language and media absence became part of the wider post-tournament debate after Belgium lurched through a tense PDC World Cup of Darts campaign. The team survived the group stage, but their run ended against Northern Ireland, leaving questions over how much confidence Van den Bergh and Mike De Decker could take from a difficult weekend.
Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast, and as reported by DartsNews, Van der Voort said Van den Bergh’s decision to stay away from the VTM cameras after Belgium’s opener was understandable rather than mysterious. His read was that the moment revealed just how heavily the performance had landed.
Van der Voort Sees Shame Behind The Silence
Belgium’s tournament began with a shock defeat to Hong Kong, and Van den Bergh’s individual display immediately drew scrutiny. De Decker fronted up afterwards, but Van den Bergh did not give the television reaction, a choice Van der Voort interpreted through his own experience as a former professional player.
Van der Voort said: “That tells you how deeply it affected Dimitri” and added that “there’s also a certain amount of shame involved”. The point matters because it frames the absence as an emotional sporting response, not as a refusal to accept responsibility.
That distinction is important for fans judging Belgium’s World Cup. Van den Bergh is one of the country’s best-known players, a major champion and a regular figure in high-profile darts conversations. When his form dips on a stage like the World Cup, the reaction is sharper because supporters know the ceiling is much higher.
There was also a quick contrast. DartsNews reported Van der Voort’s surprise that Van den Bergh was back on stage with visible energy less than a day later. That quick reset did not erase the opening performance, but it did add nuance to the story. Van den Bergh looked wounded one night and more himself the next, which is why the discussion has carried beyond Belgium’s exit.
Belgium Still Left With Something To Build On
The wider picture was not only about Van den Bergh. De Decker again emerged as a key figure for Belgium, and NineDartNews has already covered how Mike De Decker found both hurt and hope in Belgium’s World Cup. Van der Voort’s comments fit that same theme: Belgium were not convincing enough to go deep, but they were not empty of positives either.
Belgium eventually went out in a last-16 match against Northern Ireland, a tie that had enough drama to underline both their danger and their fragility. The full route and results are listed by Live Darts’ World Cup schedule, while NineDartNews covered the immediate fallout from the Northern Ireland and Belgium thriller.
Van der Voort’s most encouraging assessment was short but telling: “The level is there”. That is probably the fairest way to judge Belgium after Frankfurt. De Decker scored well enough to make opponents uncomfortable, Van den Bergh improved after the opener, and the pair still pushed a strong Northern Ireland side into a serious contest.
The problem is consistency. Belgium cannot keep relying on escape acts, missed doubles elsewhere, or one player dragging the team through difficult spells. If Van den Bergh is to turn this episode into something useful, the next step is not simply to speak after bad nights. It is to make sure those nights become less frequent.
For PDC fans, that is the lasting point. Van der Voort’s explanation gives a human reading of a difficult media moment, but it also leaves Van den Bergh with a clear sporting challenge. Belgium have the names, the experience and the scoring power to trouble elite nations. What they need now is the steadiness to show it before the damage is already done.
