Dimitri Van den Bergh's troubled season has taken another painful turn — both professionally and personally. The Belgian withdrew from Players Championship Event 30 in Den Bosch after his eldest daughter broke her arm, returning home to support his family. The withdrawal cost him another crucial opportunity to bank prize money in the race for World Championship qualification.
The two Players Championship events in Den Bosch were meant to spark a turnaround for the most successful Belgian darts player ever to compete at PDC level — a man who won the 2024 UK Open, triumphed at the 2020 World Matchplay, and reached two further major finals. Instead, nothing changed at Event 29. Van den Bergh, who had gone three months without a ProTour match, lost his opener to Kai Gotthardt, failing to win a single leg against the German while averaging just 75.56. It was his 15th first-round exit of this Players Championship season, leaving him winless on the floor across five straight events.
The slump has been building for nearly two years. In early July, Van den Bergh announced via social media that he would withdraw from the next two ProTour events for health reasons, then skipped the following two blocks as well. His first event back was the Host Nation Qualifier for the Flanders Darts Trophy, where he hoped to return to the European Tour stage in his birthplace of Antwerp — but Andy Baetens denied the comeback, winning 6-2 in the last 32. The faint hope among Dimi's fans of seeing a rejuvenated "Dreammaker" in 2026, after his shocking first-round World Championship exit to debutant Darren Beveridge, has likely faded.
Now the numbers make for grim reading. Four Players Championship tournaments remain — two in the Netherlands, two in England — and alongside the two European Tour qualifiers, these are his only remaining avenues to qualify for the World Championship via the Pro Tour. The top 40 players on the 2026 Pro Tour win spots at the Worlds in December, but Van den Bergh has earned just £16,750 this year and sits 76th, trailing the last provisional qualifier, Raymond van Barneveld (£29,250), by £12,500. Across the remaining events, he would need to win almost as much as he has all season.
If he cannot bridge that gap, his only route would be the Tour Card Holder Qualifier for the Worlds — the so-called Last Chance Qualifier. For now, the Belgian is still No. 46 on the Order of Merit, ahead of players like Gabriel Clemens. But his last-32 payout from two years ago at the Worlds will drop this winter, and the "Dreammaker" would then fall outside the top 64 of the Order of Merit — meaning an immediate Tour Card loss. He would no longer be eligible for Pro Tour events or European Tour qualifiers, and to continue his career, he would have to return to Q-School in January. Van den Bergh still has four Players Championship events and two European Tour qualifiers to turn it around. Time, however, is running out.
