Dmitri van der bergh claimed the World match play beating Gary Anderson 18-10. The Belgian became the 10th winner of the championship and the first Belgian to lift a PDC title. He was a 200/1 outsider before the tournament began.
I am the winner of this tournament. Wow! Give me a few extra hours, I think I need them at the moment,” an ecstatic Van den Bergh said. What a beautiful trophy I have in my hands. They call it the Phil Taylor Trophy – that man, I have seen him playing so many times, so many tournaments. Gary Anderson – I’ve seen him play in tournaments in the BDO World Championship. I’ve always been a massive fan, I still am, but now that I have managed to win against a player like that, on a trophy name like this one, wow!”
Given Van der Berghs form coming into the final a win over Anderson cannot be considered a shock. Anderson’s experience many people thought would triumph. The Belgian converted 45 per cent of his attempts at double and produced finishes of 121, 124, 132 and 170 en route to an emphatic 18-10 success, reeling off 13 of the last 17 legs to complete the biggest win of his life.
“Especially when I was under pressure, I kept believing that I could do it. Everybody knows that when I am playing darts I give myself an extra breath and that has been working, especially I think after the last break,” he added. “We came back off the stage and I think I had two finishes on the bullseye. The second one, the bullseye went in and I was looking to the side making the face like: ‘I think it’s my day’.”
Despite no live audience, the champion was full of praise for the PDC and their efforts in making the tournament to go ahead smoothly. “You do not have to forget that this world is going through a lot of difficult times and Barry Hearn and Matthew Porter – they still made this tournament happen. They made the Summer Series events happen, so thank you, guys. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be holding this trophy. It is unbelievable.”
It has been publicised that Dmitri stayed with Peter Wright during the lockdown and has said that it helped him develop his mental game. The Belgian is mature beyond his years and his discernible humility could prove invaluable as speculation mounts about a potential Premier League inclusion in 2021, but he’s adamant that this won’t prove to be a distraction.
“I’ll be busy with myself. That’s what I have been doing the whole week. I’ve been playing against brilliant players, players that normally smash me up and all of a sudden it’s changed,” he continued.”I think whatever I’ve learnt from Peter Wright, it’s working. Peter and Jo, thank you guys, especially for the messages.”
“I think my results have definitely shown that my mental game has stepped up and my B-game,” said Van den Bergh. ”When I’m on my A-game when I’m on fire, I know I can beat anyone, I know I can play outstanding, but my B-game has always been letting me down. That is because my mental strength has not been as strong as I know it should be. Now it is and that’s why I made myself into this tournament as a winner.”
“Before I played today, my manager said: ‘You won against the number six in the world, number 12 in the world, number 14 in the world and number 18 in the world. You have won against all of them before getting yourself into the final,” he added. ”Now all of a sudden I am a winner. I am part of that elite group. I have shown that I am capable of. It doesn’t matter who you are. If I do my thing, my game and my work, I can win against everybody.”
