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Dimitri Van den Bergh

Belgian darts player (born 1994) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dimitri Barbara P. Van den Bergh (born 8 July 1994) is a Belgian professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he reached a peak ranking of world number five in 2021. Nicknamed "the Dreammaker", Van den Bergh has won two PDC major titles – the World Matchplay and the UK Open. He defeated Gary Anderson 18–10 in the 2020 World Matchplay final, and defeated Luke Humphries 11–10 in the 2024 UK Open final. He is a one-time World Championship semi-finalist, reaching the last four at the 2023 PDC World Championship. Van den Bergh has won a total of 7 PDC titles in his professional career.

FullnameDimitri Barbara P. Van den Bergh[1]
Nickname"The Dreammaker"
Born (1994-07-08) 8 July 1994 (age 32)
Antwerp, Belgium
Darts22g Target Signature Gen 2
Quick facts Personal information, Full name ...
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Van den Bergh at the 2025 UK Open
Personal information
Full nameDimitri Barbara P. Van den Bergh[1]
Nickname"The Dreammaker"
Born (1994-07-08) 8 July 1994 (age 32)
Antwerp, Belgium
Darts information
Darts22g Target Signature Gen 2
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Play Hard" by David Guetta ft. Ne-Yo & Akon
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO2012–2013
PDC2013–present
(Tour Card: 2015–present)
Current world ranking(PDC) 47 Decrease 1 (29 July 2026)[2]
WDF major events – best performances
World MastersLast 256: 2013
PDC premier events – best performances
World ChampionshipSemi-final: 2023
World MatchplayWinner (1): 2020
World Grand PrixSemi-final: 2024
UK OpenWinner (1): 2024
Grand SlamSemi-final: 2020
European ChampionshipLast 16: 2022
Premier League5th: 2021
PC FinalsLast 16: 2022, 2023
MastersSemi-final: 2024, 2025
World Series FinalsRunner-up: 2021
Other tournament wins
PDC Players Championships (×3)

World Series of Darts (×2)

Dutch Darts Masters 2022
Nordic Darts Masters 2022

Youth events

PDC World Youth Championship (×2) 2017
2018
PDC Development Tour (×12)
Medal record
Men's Darts
Representing  Belgium
EDF European Ch'ship
Gold medal – first place2017 PodčetrtekMen's singles
Silver medal – second place2017 PodčetrtekMen's cricket
Close

In his youth career, Van den Bergh won the PDC World Youth Championship in both 2017 and 2018, and twelve PDC Development Tours, making him one of the most successful players in the history of the PDC's youth system.

Career

2013

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

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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] He finished top of the Youth Tour Order of Merit which earned him a two-year card for the main PDC tour.[8]

2015

Van den Bergh claimed two Development Tour titles in 2015.[9] 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.[10] Van den Bergh was also knocked out in the second round of three European Tour events.[9] 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.[11][12]

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.[13] 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.[14] He lost 4–2 to Benito van de Pas in the following round.[15] Van den Bergh won the 14th Development Tour event by overcoming Steve Lennon 4–2.[16] 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.[17] In the semi-finals of the World Youth Championship, Van den Bergh was beaten 6–3 by Corey Cadby.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20]

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.[21] 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.[22]

At the Grand Slam, Van den Bergh hit his first televised nine-dart leg of his career against Grand Slam of Darts against Stephen Bunting.[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 played 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. 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

Van den Bergh in 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.

Van den Bergh was drawn in Group D against Stephen Bunting, Ryan Joyce and Rowby-John Rodriguez in the Grand Slam of Darts. Unfortunately just two days before the tournament started, he was force to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19. He was replaced by Chris Dobey, as he was the next player on the qualifying criteria list.[24]

2022

At the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship, Van den Bergh suffered a shock second round defeat to Florian Hempel.[25] 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.[26][27] 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.[28] Van den Bergh reached the semi-finals at the World Matchplay, where he lost to the eventual winner Michael van Gerwen 17-14.[29][30]

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,[31] before being beaten 6–0 by Michael van Gerwen.[32] 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.[33]

2024

At the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship Van den Bergh was defeated in the second round by Florian Hempel 2–3, despite winning the first two sets, Van den Bergh missed 3 match darts. The match was a repeat of the 2022 second-round tie, which Hempel also won.[34]

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.[35]

Van den Bergh reached the quarter-finals at the 2024 World Matchplay, where he threw a nine-dart leg in his first round victory over Martin Schindler,[36] before losing to eventual champion Luke Humphries.[37]

2025

Van den Bergh (right) and his new Belgian teammate Mike De Decker at the 2025 PDC World Cup of Darts

At the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship Van den Bergh was knocked out of the third round of the tournament to Callan Rydz 4–0. During the 2025 PDC World Masters, Van den Bergh hit a third televised nine-dart finish in his 4–3 second round victory over Michael van Gerwen.[38] He was defeated by Jonny Clayton in the semi-finals. Van den Bergh then took a break from darts for two months as a mental reset, starting at the beginning of April after he withdrew from a Players Championship event. He returned to competition at the World Cup of Darts, where he partnered Mike De Decker.[39] They started off promising with a 4–1 win over the Latvian team of Madars Razma and Valters Melderis, but were shockingly eliminated from the tournament after losing to the Philippines team of Lourence Ilagan and Paolo Nebrida 4–3 despite leading 3–0 and on the verge of qualifying for the round of 16 themselves.[40]

2026

At the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship Van den Bergh was eliminated in the first round for the first time since the 2017 tournament to Scottish player Darren Beveridge 3–0.[41] Van den Bergh once again partnered Mike De Decker at the World Cup of Darts.[42]

World Championship performances

PDC World Championship

Career finals

PDC major finals: 4 (2 titles)

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

PDC world series finals: 4 (2 titles)

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

Performance timeline

More information Tournament ...
Tournament2014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
PDC Ranked televised events
World Championship DNQ 2R 1R QF 3R QF 4R 2R SF 2R 3R 1R
World Masters[N 1] Did not qualify 1R 2R 1R SF SF Prel.
UK Open Did not qualify 1R 6R QF 4R 5R SF W 6R 4R
World Matchplay Did not qualify W F SF 2R QF DNQ
World Grand Prix Did not qualify 1R 2R 1R QF 1R SF DNQ
European Championship Did not qualify 1R DNQ 1R DNQ 2R 1R DNQ
Grand Slam DNQ RR DNQ QF RR SF WD DNQ 2R DNQ
Players Championship Finals DNQ 2R DNQ 1R 1R 1R 2R 3R 3R 1R DNQ
PDC Non-ranked televised events
Premier League Did not participate C DNP 5th DNP 6th DNP
World Cup Did not participate SF QF SF 2R QF SF SF RR 2R
World Series Finals DNQ 1R DNQ QF 1R DNQ 1R F 2R QF 1R DNQ
World Youth Championship 3R 1R SF W W Did not participate
Career statistics
Year-end ranking NR 59 51 39 33 29 9 9 11 14 11 25
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PDC European Tour

More information Season ...
Season123456789101112131415
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
Did not qualify
2019 EDO
3R
GDC
2R
GDG
DNQ
GDO
2R
ADO
DNQ
EDG
2R
DNQ ADC
2R
EDM
DNQ
IDO
2R
GDT
2R
2020 BDC
2R
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
DNQ
2024 BDO
1R
GDG
2R
IDO
2R
EDG
WD
ADO
2R
BSD
1R
DDC
3R
EDO
2R
GDC
1R
FDT
1R
HDT
1R
SDT
1R
CDO
1R
2025 BDO
2R
EDT
2R
IDO
3R
GDG
WD
ADO
WD
Did not participate/qualify
2026 Did not qualify BSD
2R
Did not qualify DDC
Close

PDC World Series of Darts

More information Tournament ...
Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Nordic Masters SF W QF QF DNP
Dutch Masters NH W NH 1R 1R
Queensland Masters NH QF NH
New South Wales Masters NH QF 1R NH
New Zealand Masters NH SF SF QF NH
Bahrain Masters NH QF DNP
Poland Masters NH F DNP
US Masters NH DNP QF DNP
Australian Masters NH SF DNP
Close

PDC Players Championships

More information Season ...
Season12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
2015 BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
4R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
COV
2R
COV
1R
COV
2R
CRA
1R
CRA
3R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
WIG
2R
WIG
3R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
DUB
1R
DUB
1R
COV
2R
COV
1R
2016 BAR
3R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
COV
2R
COV
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
3R
BAR
1R
BAR
SF
BAR
2R
DUB
1R
DUB
3R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
2017 BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
MIL
4R
MIL
2R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
WIG
3R
WIG
1R
MIL
2R
MIL
1R
WIG
1R
WIG
2R
BAR
QF
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
2R
DUB
2R
DUB
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
2018 BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
2R
BAR
3R
MIL
2R
MIL
QF
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
WIG
1R
WIG
1R
MIL
2R
MIL
2R
WIG
1R
WIG
QF
BAR
2R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
DUB
1R
DUB
1R
BAR
4R
BAR
1R
2019 WIG
1R
WIG
1R
WIG
4R
WIG
F
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
WIG
1R
WIG
3R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
WIG
QF
WIG
SF
BAR
3R
BAR
4R
HIL
F
HIL
1R
BAR
3R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
DUB
1R
DUB
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
2020 BAR
1R
BAR
1R
WIG
1R
WIG
2R
WIG
4R
WIG
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
MIL
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
4R
MIL
3R
MIL
1R
NIE
3R
NIE
3R
NIE
1R
NIE
1R
NIE
4R
COV
4R
COV
1R
COV
2R
COV
1R
COV
2R
2021 BOL
1R
BOL
1R
BOL
2R
BOL
1R
MIL
2R
MIL
1R
MIL
2R
MIL
1R
NIE
SF
NIE
4R
NIE
2R
NIE
W
MIL
1R
MIL
QF
MIL
1R
MIL
3R
COV
F
COV
1R
COV
SF
COV
4R
BAR
2R
BAR
SF
BAR
1R
BAR
W
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
2022 BAR
3R
BAR
1R
WIG
2R
WIG
F
BAR
SF
BAR
1R
NIE
1R
NIE
DNP
BAR
2R
BAR
4R
BAR
2R
BAR
3R
BAR
2R
WIG
2R
WIG
1R
NIE
4R
NIE
1R
BAR
3R
BAR
3R
BAR
2R
BAR
2R
BAR
QF
BAR
1R
BAR
QF
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
2023 BAR
3R
BAR
4R
BAR
1R
BAR
4R
BAR
4R
BAR
1R
HIL
QF
HIL
4R
WIG
2R
WIG
SF
LEI
3R
LEI
4R
HIL
3R
HIL
1R
LEI
2R
LEI
3R
HIL
2R
HIL
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
QF
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
3R
BAR
4R
BAR
2R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
2024 WIG
1R
WIG
1R
LEI
3R
LEI
2R
HIL
2R
HIL
1R
LEI
1R
LEI
1R
HIL
1R
HIL
1R
HIL
1R
HIL
W
MIL
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
2R
MIL
1R
MIL
2R
MIL
1R
MIL
4R
WIG
2R
WIG
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
1R
WIG
3R
WIG
2R
WIG
1R
WIG
1R
WIG
1R
LEI
DNP
2025 WIG
3R
WIG
1R
ROS
DNP
LEI
1R
LEI
1R
HIL
1R
HIL
1R
LEI
2R
LEI
2R
LEI
1R
LEI
1R
Did not participate LEI
4R
LEI
3R
LEI
1R
LEI
1R
LEI
2R
HIL
1R
HIL
2R
MIL
1R
MIL
1R
HIL
1R
HIL
1R
LEI
1R
LEI
1R
LEI
1R
WIG
4R
WIG
1R
WIG
1R
WIG
QF
2026 HIL
2R
HIL
1R
WIG
1R
WIG
1R
LEI
1R
LEI
1R
LEI
1R
LEI
1R
WIG
3R
WIG
2R
MIL
1R
MIL
2R
HIL
1R
HIL
2R
LEI
2R
LEI
1R
LEI
4R
LEI
3R
MIL
1R
MIL
1R
WIG
1R
WIG
1R
Did not participate ROS
ROS
ROS
ROS
LEI
LEI
Close
More information Performance Table Legend ...
Performance Table Legend
W Won the tournament F Finalist SF Semifinalist QF Quarterfinalist #R
RR
Prel.
Lost in # round
Round-robin
Preliminary round
DQ Disqualified
DNQ Did not qualify DNP Did not participate WD Withdrew NH Tournament not held NYF Not yet founded
Close
  1. A non-ranked event until 2025

Nine-dart finishes

More information Date, Opponent ...
Dimitri Van den Bergh televised nine-dart finishes
Date Opponent Tournament Method Prize
14 November 2018 England Stephen Bunting Grand Slam 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 £25,000
14 July 2024 Germany Martin Schindler World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
1 February 2025 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen PDC World Masters 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18
Close

Notes

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

References

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