Michael van Gerwen has been taunted for a backstage remark after being sent packing from the World Cup of Darts. The Dutch team of Van Gerwen and Danny Noppert were thrashed 8-2 by Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts, who produced a devastating display of scoring and finishing.
The Belgians’ fractious relationship had been the source of intrigue for the second World Cup in a row ahead of the tournament, but they are proving quite the double act on and off the oche in Frankfurt. Both have suffered at the hands of three-time world champion Van Gerwen over the years.
And they couldn’t resist a few barbs at MVG as they faced the media together following their second-round triumph. The pair revealed a confident pre-match remark Van Gerwen made which came back to bite him.
“I’ve never heard Michael be quiet,” said Huybrechts. “I didn’t hear him the whole game. Normally, he has the biggest mouth on the whole Pro Tour.
“We’ve both experienced that. He’s tried to bully us so many times. I heard Danny Noppert [known for being a quiet character] screaming more than Michael van Gerwen.”
Van den Bergh then chipped in: “What did Michael say behind the stage? He was like, ‘This draw was meant to happen’.
“That’s what he said. I just looked at him. We played a phenomenal game and I’m so proud of what Belgium has just done against the Netherlands.”
Huybrechts, a runner-up with his brother Ronny back in 2013, added: “We didn’t give them a chance, we were in total control. I always say to Dimitri that if we do our own thing, we are very dangerous. Tonight was a complete performance.”
Belgium will play Italy for a place in the semi-finals after Michele Turetta and Massimo Dalla Rosa won through an extraordinary last-leg decider against 2022 champions Australia. The Italian duo survived six match darts in an epic finale, as Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock crashed out at the last-16 stage for the first time as a partnership.
Elsewhere, England completed an 8-3 demolition of France, as world champion Luke Humphries made a winning start on his World Cup debut. Humphries and Michael Smith will face Northern Ireland in the quarter-finals.
