Dimitri Van den Bergh had something to fix at the World Cup darts. Last year he went out early against the relatively unknown German Florian Hempel, despite a top performance. A big disappointment.
This year, our compatriot wanted to add some sparkle to his changeable season with a good World Cup. In his first assignment at Alexandra Palace, “Dancing Dimi” had to overcome Filipino Lourence Ilagan. A valid card.
Van den Bergh, who launched a new set of arrows, also got off to a good start and immediately showed the difference in level with the modest Filipino in the first set. In an instant he was 3-0.
In the second set, Van den Bergh looked to be on his way to winning the set again with a quick counter attack, but Ilagan surprised with a fine 120 “Shanghai” finish and took the lead. Van den Bergh, however, kept his composure and still went into the second set.
In the third set our compatriot raised the level a bit. With a set average of 110, he was no match for Ilagan. With an unmatched case of 164 and a matching arrow in the center, he has set another highlight.
Van den Bergh runs to the next round and does so with the highest average so far in this World Cup: 97.2. His opponent in the third round could be Polish world number 18 Krzystof Ratajski if he can overcome Dutch Danny Jansen or Filipino Paolo Nebrida.
