DIMI BAFFLED BY WORLD CUP NIGHTMARE

DIMITRI VAN DEN BERGH admitted he is “back to square one” after a torrid start to the World Cup.

The Dreammaker averaged just 66 in Belgium’s shock 4-2 defeat to Hong Kong in their opening Group B clash.

Two-time major winner Van den Bergh and Mike De Decker bounced back with a 4-1 victory over Slovenia on Saturday, before relying on Slovenia defeating Hong Kong 4-2 to sneak through to the last 16.

World No37 Van den Bergh has struggled for form over the past year and faces a battle to retain his PDC Tour Card.

Van den Bergh admitted he still has no explanation for his dismal display in Frankfurt.

He said: “From my point of view, yesterday I just don’t know how to explain it.

“Whatever happened up there happened.

“Afterwards, Mike and I had a conversation. He said, ‘Dimi, I know you’re working hard, I know you’re pushing, I know you’re trying, but if it’s not happening, it’s not happening. You can’t do anything about it.’

“He knows, and I know, that I’m giving 110%.

“Yesterday Mike was fantastic, but I still didn’t do enough, and for me that was a killer.

“I’m happy that I managed to turn things around today and help him when he wasn’t finding the treble 20s like he was yesterday.

“We both felt that today we really played like a team.

“It was definitely a good change and I’m really happy about that.”

Van den Bergh admitted the scrutiny from both fans and the media only added to the doubts within the camp heading into the tournament.

He added: “We knew there was doubt from the outside world and we knew there was doubt in our own minds as well.

“But at the end of the day, we’re always going to step on that stage and give 110%.

“It’s important to play with your heart.

“It doesn’t matter what the criticism is going to be or what people say.

“What matters is what we do. That’s action.

“Today we’ve got a good win, an important win, and it keeps us in the running.

“That’s all we can focus on.”

Van den Bergh also revealed off-stage issues have made his struggles even tougher to overcome.

He continued: “A couple of weeks ago I said that I felt like I was back to about 70 or 80 per cent.

“I even did an interview with a journalist back home in Belgium and said exactly that.

“But after that interview there were still things going on at home.

“All I wanted to do was move forward and make things easier.

“That wasn’t the case yesterday.

“Everybody saw it worldwide and I still don’t have an explanation for it.

“So in a way, I’m back to square one.

“Today was a good day and I played better, but all I can really say is thank you to Mike for being a great leader.”

De Decker believes the team format helped Van den Bergh recover from his difficult start and joked he tried to give his team-mate a much-needed wake-up call.

He said: “Maybe it’s 50-50.

“The good thing is that you’re not on your own up there on stage.

“Yesterday I was trying to give him a kick up the arse.

“Normally when you’re struggling on stage, you’re all by yourself.

“Here you can do it together and lift each other up.

“That can make a big difference compared to other tournaments and it definitely helps.

“If you watched our game today, when I was hitting 60s, he was hitting trebles.

“When I was hitting trebles, he was scoring well too.

“We were constantly covering for each other.

“I think today we genuinely played as a team and that’s a big step forward.”

Belgium return to action this evening and will face defending champions Northern Ireland in a blockbuster clash.