Dimitri Van den Bergh World Darts Championship 2027 Blow
Dimitri Van den Bergh will not be at Alexandra Palace this winter. The Belgian, 32, has decided not to enter either of his two remaining qualifying events for the World Darts Championship. Dimitri Van den Bergh World Darts Championship 2027 will be remembered as the championship he missed, not the championship he played in.
On this page
- Dimitri Van den Bergh World Darts Championship 2027: The Decision Not to Enter the Final Qualifiers
- How the Tour Card Was Lost
- A Season of Struggle in 2026
- The Career He Is Leaving Behind
- What Happens Next: Q-School and the Questions Around His Future
- The Wider Picture: Who Else Is Missing and Who Still Needs to Qualify
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
The news was reported on 12 November 2026, citing Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. His first route is the qualifier for Dutch and Belgian players on Saturday 14 November, with one place on offer. The second is the final Tour Card Holder qualifier on 30 November.
By passing up both chances, he will miss the World Darts Championship 2027, which runs from 11 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 at Alexandra Palace.
Dimitri Van den Bergh World Darts Championship 2027: The Decision Not to Enter the Final Qualifiers
The facts are simple. Van den Bergh has two remaining qualifying events that could take him to Alexandra Palace, and he will enter neither: the Dutch and Belgian qualifier on Saturday 14 November, with one place on offer, and the final Tour Card Holder qualifier on 30 November.
The Dimitri Van den Bergh World Darts Championship 2027 news was reported on 12 November 2026, citing Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. The first qualifier is only two days later, and there is no other route into the tournament once these two qualifiers have passed.
The World Darts Championship 2027 qualifiers page sets out the routes into the tournament, and the two events Van den Bergh has passed up are the last ones available to him. The Dutch and Belgian qualifier is a single-place event. The Tour Card Holder qualifier on 30 November is the final chance for players who hold a Tour Card.
It is not yet known whether he will take part in Q-School in early January to try to win back a Tour Card. That question will decide what happens next in his career. For now, the only certainty is that he will miss the World Championship by choice, not because he ran out of chances.
How the Tour Card Was Lost
The loss of a PDC Tour Card is decided by the PDC Order of Merit. Van den Bergh is 60th on the Order of Merit with £135,500 in ranking prize money. The Order of Merit works on a two-year rolling basis, and money earned two years ago drops off as time passes.
Of his £135,500, £40,250 is due to expire, including £25,000 from reaching the third round of the 2025 World Championship. Once that money expires, his projected total drops to £95,250, outside the top 64 who keep their Tour Cards. That is the maths behind the Dimitri Van den Bergh World Darts Championship 2027 absence, and that is why the loss of his Tour Card looks inevitable.
His 2024 UK Open win was worth £110,000, and that money has now left the two-year Order of Merit. A major title is worth a huge amount of ranking money, but it only counts for two years. When it drops off, a player needs to have replaced it with new results, and Van den Bergh has not done that.
The World Darts Championship 2027 field is made up of players who have earned their places through the Order of Merit and the qualifying events. Van den Bergh’s ranking has fallen to 60th, his projected total is £95,250, and the top 64 cut-off is out of reach.
A Season of Struggle in 2026
The numbers behind Van den Bergh’s 2026 season explain why his ranking has fallen so far. He has not gone beyond the last 16 in any of the 34 Players Championship events this season.
His final four Players Championship appearances of 2026 all ended in first-round defeats. Four events, four first-round exits, and no wins to show for them. Every early exit is a missed chance to earn ranking money and build form.
One of those defeats tells the story in a single number. He averaged 73.28 in a 5-2 defeat to Stefaan Henderyck, a long way below the level needed to compete on the PDC circuit, and below the level Van den Bergh himself has played at for most of his career.
He also failed to qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts and for the Players Championship Finals. The Grand Slam of Darts 2026 absentees list includes players missing for many different reasons, but for Van den Bergh the reason is simple: his results were not good enough. The Players Championship Finals 2026 preview covers an event he will also watch from the outside.
The Career He Is Leaving Behind
To understand how big this moment is, it helps to remember what Van den Bergh has achieved. He is a former world number five, a two-time major winner, and a World Championship semi-finalist.
His first major title came at the World Matchplay in 2020. His second came at the UK Open in 2024, when he beat Luke Humphries in the final. The UK Open win was worth £110,000, the biggest title of his career at the time.
He reached the semi-finals of the World Championship in 2023, a run that put him among the best players in the world at the biggest event in darts. He is also a two-time World Youth champion.
He took a two-month break from darts in 2025, a decision that showed he was already dealing with pressures away from the board. That break came before the decline in results became as clear as it is now.
The Luke Littler World Darts Championship 2027 campaign is the story of a player at the very top of the sport. The Beau Greaves World Darts Championship 2027 story is the story of a qualifier making her way to Alexandra Palace. Van den Bergh’s story is the opposite: a former world number five and a two-time major winner who will not be there at all.
What Happens Next: Q-School and the Questions Around His Future
The road back for Van den Bergh, if he chooses to take it, runs through Q-School in early January. Q-School is the event where players who do not hold a Tour Card can win one back.
It is not yet known whether he will take part in Q-School. That is the key question, and it is still unanswered. It is not yet known whether that decision is part of a wider step away from the tour, or simply the end of a difficult season.
Pundits have questioned whether he will ever return to the tour. That is a serious question to ask about a 32-year-old former world number five. A year ago, the question would have been about his form and his chances at the next major. Now the question is whether he will ever be back on the tour at all.
The World Darts Championship 2026-27 schedule runs from 11 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, and Q-School follows in early January, just after the World Championship ends. If he enters Q-School, he will be playing for his professional future within weeks of the World Championship final. If he does not, his time on the tour ends, at least for now.
The Wider Picture: Who Else Is Missing and Who Still Needs to Qualify
Van den Bergh is not the only player whose World Championship hopes have ended before the tournament begins. Vincent van der Voort has also ruled out entering the Dutch and Belgian qualifier, the same event Van den Bergh has passed up. Van der Voort has cited work commitments with Viaplay and physical problems, saying: “my body starts to hurt all over, from head to toe”.
There are other players in a very different position. Ricky Evans is among the other players who still need a qualifying event to reach Alexandra Palace, and he is still fighting for a place in the field. Some players are stepping away from the qualifiers, and others are still fighting for the last places. The field is taking shape, with 80 players having already secured their places.
The World Darts Championship 2027 prize money on offer at Alexandra Palace is the biggest in the history of the event, and it is part of what makes missing the tournament so costly. The World Championship is the biggest event in darts, the one that defines a player’s year. Missing it is missing the stage where careers are made.
The Grand Slam of Darts 2026 Order of Merit picture shows how the rankings have shifted at the top of the sport. At the other end, players like Van den Bergh fight to stay inside the top 64. The Dimitri Van den Bergh World Darts Championship 2027 absence will be felt at Alexandra Palace.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Dimitri Van den Bergh play at the World Darts Championship 2027?
No. He has decided not to enter either of his two remaining qualifying events, the qualifier for Dutch and Belgian players on Saturday 14 November and the final Tour Card Holder qualifier on 30 November.
Why is Van den Bergh losing his PDC Tour Card?
He is 60th on the PDC Order of Merit with £135,500 in ranking prize money, and £40,250 of that money is due to expire, including £25,000 from reaching the third round of the 2025 World Championship. That leaves a projected £95,250, outside the top 64 who keep their Tour Cards.
What was Van den Bergh’s form like in 2026?
He has not gone beyond the last 16 in any of the 34 Players Championship events this season. His final four Players Championship appearances of 2026 all ended in first-round defeats, and he averaged 73.28 in a 5-2 defeat to Stefaan Henderyck.
What has Van den Bergh won in his career?
He is a former world number five and a two-time major winner, winning the World Matchplay in 2020 and the UK Open in 2024, when he beat Luke Humphries in the final. He was a World Championship semi-finalist in 2023 and is a two-time World Youth champion.
Can Van den Bergh win back his Tour Card?
He can enter Q-School in early January to try to win back a Tour Card. It is not yet known whether he will take part, and pundits have questioned whether he will ever return to the tour.
Who else has ruled out the Dutch and Belgian qualifier?
Vincent van der Voort has also ruled out entering the Dutch and Belgian qualifier, citing work commitments with Viaplay and physical problems, saying “my body starts to hurt all over, from head to toe”. Ricky Evans still needs a qualifying event to reach Alexandra Palace.
Conclusion
The Dimitri Van den Bergh World Darts Championship 2027 story is a sad one for a player who has given the sport so much. A former world number five, a two-time major winner and a World Championship semi-finalist will not be at Alexandra Palace this winter, because he has chosen not to enter his final two qualifiers.
His 2026 season explains the numbers. Thirty-four Players Championship events without a run past the last 16, four straight first-round defeats to end the year, an average of 73.28 in his defeat to Stefaan Henderyck, and no place at the Grand Slam or the Players Championship Finals.
What happens next is still unknown. Q-School in early January is the route back, if he chooses to take it. Whether he takes it, and whether he ever returns to the tour, are questions that only he can answer. For now, the World Darts Championship 2027 will go ahead without one of its most talented players of recent years.
