The Ladbrokes UK Open played out in a dramatic fashion last night, with Dimitri Van den Bergh defeating Luke Humphries in a pulsating final to cap off what had been a remarkable darts tournament.
There was some incredible darts played over the course of the three days play at Minehead, one which featured no shortage of memorable moments. Quite a few of the game in the final rounds went right down to the wire, including last night's decider.
Van den Bergh and Humphries traded blows throughout, with the contest eventually going right down to a deciding leg. Both players would have darts to win it, with the Belgian eventually coming out on top after his opponent missed two match darts in that final leg.
VAN DEN BERGH IS THE CHAMPION! 🏆
Dimitri Van den Bergh wins the 2024 Ladbrokes UK Open!
One of the most dramatic endings you will ever see!
📺 https://t.co/D7iTWZMSbj#UKOpenDarts | Final pic.twitter.com/y1TQ5rqPnU— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 3, 2024
This was a landmark victory in Van den Bergh's career. He has threatened to arrive at the top table of darts for the last few years, although he has lacked consistency at times. He will be hoping that he can use this victory to propel him to bigger and better things over the remainder of 2024.
However, he did not seem to be a popular figure among darts fans last night.
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Darts: Mardle defends Dimitri Van Den Bergh after UK Open abuse
Dimitri Van den Bergh is somewhat of a marmite character. His antics both before and during matches endears him to many, but others are less enthused by his approach.
During last night's game, the English crowd seemed unhappy with his style of play.
They felt that his slower throwing style on this occasion was an attempt to put off Luke Humphries and his quick fire approach, while his delay in throwing one one occasion went down particularly badly.
The crowd booing Dimitri Van den Bergh for his delaying tactics against Luke Humphries pic.twitter.com/ZRPowIMYiP
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) March 3, 2024
It is worth pointing out that the Belgian player would go on to lose that particular leg. Van den Bergh often played with a decent pace in the past, but he seems to have intentionally slowed down his play in recent times.
Humphries, who is always a gracious competitor regardless of the result, did admit that it was difficult to deal with his opponent's approach on this occasion.
“He’s incredibly slow and takes a long time to take his darts out. The crowd made their mind up.”
🧊Luke Humphries talks about dealing with Dimitri Van den Bergh’s pace. #UKOpen pic.twitter.com/wyDjp4383T— OCHE (@Oche180) March 3, 2024
I wasn't angry with him. I'm used to Dimitri being a flowy player and quite a good player to play against, but he's completely different now.
He's one of the toughest players to play because he's incredibly slow and takes a long time to take his darts out...
The crowd were on his back. I tried to stop them from booing and whistling, because obviously no one likes that and I don't like that against me, but the crowd made their mind up.
I thought that when he slowed everything down when he was 10-8 up, it's not a good thing to do because the crowd will get on your back and you're thinking about it.
Quite a few darts fans were quick to criticise the Ladbrokes UK Open winner online, while the crowd in the venue were also clearly frustrated.
However, some feel this is unfair.
Wayne Mardle was quick to jump to the defence of the Belgian and his pace of play, even if he was not a fan of some of the delays he took during the game.
Player A throws slower than player B, so Player A more or less gets called a cheat. Naive.
— WAYNE MARDLE (@Wayne501Mardle) March 3, 2024
I’ve not problem with it. He can throw at whatever pace suits him, not his opponents. As for the delay, not a fan. https://t.co/ouW4KTG9Lj
— WAYNE MARDLE (@Wayne501Mardle) March 3, 2024
Eric shouts in someone’s face, that’s typical Eric. Manley talks to an opponent whilst they’re throwing, that’s funny. Phil walks off before a final leg, fine…it’s Phil. Whitlock leaves the stage for a shat, when you’ve got go. Dimi stands back for 30 seconds, darts implodes.
— WAYNE MARDLE (@Wayne501Mardle) March 4, 2024
While no darts player enjoys being booed by the fans, Dimitri Van den Bergh will put up with it if results continue to come in this manner.
It will be interesting to see if this is a consistent theme over the remaining big tournaments in 2024.
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