Kim Huybrechts has been left with a bitter taste after his European Championship run came to an abrupt end, and he didn't hold back in his assessment of the man who beat him. The 40-year-old Belgian lost 10-3 to Stephen Bunting in the second round on Saturday, and afterwards admitted he was particularly disappointed with his own level. 'The Hurricane' felt he should have given his English opponent a much tougher game.
Huybrechts had pulled off a surprise on Thursday, beating Ryan Searle 6-1. The Belgian, who was added to the field at the last minute after Luke Humphries withdrew, made a strong impression in that match. Against Bunting, however, he could not reproduce that level. The Englishman took full advantage of Huybrechts's below-par scoring and made the difference on the doubles in particular, hitting four finishes over 100 and giving his opponent little chance to get into the match. Bunting produced a finishing clinic at 56% to dump out Huybrechts 10-3.
Afterwards, Huybrechts largely blamed himself for the defeat. The Belgian did not feel he had been able to play his usual game, while Bunting was particularly clinical at the key moments. "I didn't feel that I was throwing well," he told HLN.be. "It's difficult to analyse it straight away. He took everything out. My scoring, on the other hand, wasn't good enough. That sums up the match a bit."
Bunting's strong finishing put Huybrechts behind early on, and the Belgian then failed to turn the match around. "I was always playing catch-up. In darts, things don't always go the way you want or the way you prepare for. A lot of other factors come into play on stage."
Huybrechts was unhappy not only with his own performance, but also made a striking comment about his opponent's level. While he accepts that Bunting is currently ahead of him, the Belgian believes he must be able to beat players like him in the future. "Stephen is a good player, but he's not world-class. I'm just below him, but in the coming years I need to beat this kind of opponent. It was far too easy a win for him, so I'm disappointed in myself."
