DIMITRI ‘BULLIED’ OUT OF WINNING ROUTINE
06/03/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
DIMITRI Van den Bergh has been “BULLIED” out of the routine that made him a champion, claims pundit Dan Dawson.
‘The Dreammaker’ became famous for his deliberate throw and deep breathing at the oche, a method that helped him land major titles and produce some of the best darts of his career.
But over the last year the Belgian has suffered a dramatic slump in form, failing to reach a single ProTour semi-final and missing out on qualification for several televised events.
World No.26 Van den Bergh last lifted a PDC Premier crown in 2024 when he beat Luke Humphries to win the UK Open.
Yet Dimi was heavily booed by the crowd during the bout for taking a long time to compose himself at the drinks table between legs.
Dawson fears outside pressure may have pushed Van den Bergh to change.
He said on The Darts Show Podcast: “The fact is when Dimitri was slowing things down and doing all his breathing he was winning titles.
“It is almost like he has been bullied out of it. ‘Oh stop all that, I don’t like it. It is weird and slow’.
“It feels like he feels pressured to be a certain way to please other people.
“Sod them — you play darts how you play darts if it is how you get the best results out of yourself.
“I really hope it is not him trying to please others because you never will please everybody.
“You just play darts how you play darts. He didn’t break any rules. Alright some people didn’t like it — fine, I don’t care.
“He played some world class darts and won stuff, World Matchplay champion and UK Open.
“He won a whole lot of other stuff and probably should have won on the Euro Tour.
“He has had a brilliant career and I hope there is loads more to come.
“But I don’t think it is going to be this weekend in Minehead.”
Van den Bergh is defending £110,000 on his ranking at Butlin’s Minehead and could drop out of the top 32 with an early exit.
The two-time major winner returns to action on Friday evening when he enters the tournament in the fourth round.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
