'Right now he's completely lost it' - Struggling Dimitri van den Bergh needs to 'go back to basics' according to Van der Voort

In the latest episode of Darts Draait Door podcast, Damian Vlottes and Vincent van der Voort discussed the dire situation of Dimitri Van den Bergh, who is visibly struggling with his level. The former World Matchplay and UK Open winner lost to Ronny Huybrechts at the Host Nation Qualifier for the Flanders Darts Trophy last week, forcing him to miss another tournament.

So the conversation began with that same Belgian qualifier for the Flanders Darts Trophy. "There were four professional players competing, and in the end two managed to make it," Vlottes said, though the big surprise was in the performance of Dimitri Van den Bergh, who was completely unable to find his feet. "He's lost it," he sounded resolute, "Right now he's completely lost it. His arrows weren't flying well, it was very flat in the board. His throw was just not good, everything was wrong with that."

Van den Bergh, as mentioned earlier, lost to Ronny Huybrechts, and that seemed a clear signal. "You could see he was trying everything during the match. But his pitch and everything is just gone. He keeps his point up, more or less wants to 'lob' it, but still throws it away hard - making it very flat in the board."

According to Van der Voort, Dimitri would benefit from serious coaching. "That won't just go out with training. He needs to get back to basics, play small tournaments and see if he can get the feeling back. "The question is whether that can be done soon. Because although Van den Bergh still has a spot at the World Cup, he is missing almost all major TV tournaments this year. "His second half of the season not much is happening. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, but then you have to find the right training form."

Taking its toll on a lot of players

One interesting point Van der Voort touched on was about Van den Bergh's equipment. There seems to be tinkering with his arrows. "If you change your arrows and it doesn't work out, then you start adjusting your throw to get that arrow right. But that's the worst thing you can do. He's had so much success with that throw. By adjusting it, sooner or later it's going to go wrong."

The remedy? Back to basics and rebuild rhythm. A comparison to tennis came along: like a player who goes back to "challenger" tournaments to find confidence, Dimitri has to look for smaller venues to get his feel back.

That Van den Bergh is not the only one struggling, the gentlemen agreed. "We've talked about Van Gerwen, about Dimitri, about Peter Wright, Michael Smith, Joe Cullen, Raymond van Barneveld ... Even Chisnall. There are a lot of big names who are struggling right now," Van der Voort said. The problem looks broader than just loss of form. Mental pressure, material choices and the overcrowded schedule seem to be taking their toll.