Airport anguish for Dimitri van den Bergh adds to pain of early World Cup of Darts exit

After a frustrating early exit at the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt, Dimitri Van den Bergh is shifting focus to the Players Championship events in England — but not without a rocky journey across the Channel.

Van den Bergh’s long-awaited return to the World Cup stage didn’t go as planned. Teaming up with fellow Belgian Mike De Decker, the duo were eliminated in the first round — a disappointing result for a pairing that had high hopes. Still, the 2020 World Matchplay champion struck a note of pride and determination in a message to fans on social media. “Mike and I gave it everything, heart and soul, for Belgium. We’ll come back stronger next year. Thank you all for the support — it felt surreal,” wrote The DreamMaker.

After the tournament, Van den Bergh remained in Frankfurt for a few days alongside his manager before heading to the UK, where three consecutive Players Championship events await in Leicester. These will mark his first solo appearances on the PDC Tour following a two-month break from competitive action.

But the Belgian’s return to the oche was nearly derailed by travel chaos. In a post to Instagram, Van den Bergh revealed that his flight to Birmingham was cancelled unexpectedly — while the plane was already taxiing towards the runway.

"From having an hour delay, to cancellation of the flight whilst the plane was already driving towards the runway, suddenly stopped and then told no clearance for take off," Van den Bergh explained.

Eventually, Van den Bergh reached his hotel in the early hours of the morning, managing just a few hours' rest before attempting the journey all over again.

"Flight was 22:00, delayed to 22:45. Almost at the runway with the plane and then cancelled at 23:05. No more allowed to take off to Birmingham. Now I am finally in bed after all this and it's 2:09," he shared in a second post. "Leaving at 5:30, back to the airport for Round 2, for the new flight which is scheduled for 8:10."

The second attempt, fortunately, went off without a hitch. Now settled in Leicester, Van den Bergh is back in business and preparing to compete in the PDC’s floor tournaments — ready to put the travel drama behind him and let his darts do the talking.