“It was a bitter pill that I had to swallow after the World Cup,” said the Kempen native to journalist Damian Vlottes for Double Top Podcast. Huybrechts could not win a single leg against Richard Veenstra in his first match and lost ingloriously 0-3 in London. “That hurt for a while. But a little self-reflection and time for yourself is important.”
Afterwards, Huybrechts spoke harsh words in a video interview with Het Nieuwsblad. He said at the time, among other things: “From 2024 it will just be Kim Huybrechts and no one else. I’m not going to look at other players in the world anymore. Number 1, 2, 3 in the world, I don’t care anymore. Also the other Belgians… I tried to bring them along quite far, but that doesn’t interest me anymore. I’m now going for Kim Huybrechts. We’ll see where that takes me. If it ends well, it ends well. If it doesn’t end well, then I’m done with it. I want to add another ten years at the highest level, but apparently I have become a target.”
“The thinking is still the same,” it sounds now. “It was just a bit loud then, maybe. I was simply asked what 2024 will bring for me. I’m just going to look at myself a little more. I have done a lot for others in the past, such as helping with management and training, but I am now going to focus on myself. It came across as a bit harsh at the time, but the approach remains the same. I will continue to comment and such, because that is giving my opinion. I mean at tournaments, where I would normally support other boys, for example. It will be more ‘Kim Time’ there. Invest more time in myself.”
© PDC
“I know myself”
Outside the Belgian Championship, Huybrechts had little control over his arrows. Time with the family was just as important after his unexpectedly early and painful World Cup exit. With wife Dana too, who tried to put her husband on edge in an interview with our newspaper.
“Lazy is an understatement,” she said. “Kim is addicted to (the computer game, ed.) Football Manager, while I actually do everything. In the house, in the garden… Kim is actually a spoiled brat. Yes, he is away a lot and might want to be home quietly, but I have to do everything alone anyway. And putting pressure on him: ‘Now you’re going to train, aren’t you?’ Kim has so much talent, but no character. If he were a training animal, you would see something. The way he sometimes throws things here is inhumane. One 180 after another. Phenomenal. But he doesn’t have it, too bad… It’s not possible.”
“She was just right,” says ‘The Hurricane’. “She often says I’m too lazy, so. And that because of that I haven’t been able to get more out of my career than I could have. For her, this was a wake-up call to me: boy, you have gold in your hands and you are not doing anything with it. It is also her financial situation and future, just like the children. So she has the right to say that. She’s already said it to me, but I don’t listen very well. So full credit to her for doing that, because she does everything for me. It is not always easy as the wife of a top athlete, in any sport. So it didn’t bother me, I know what I’m like. For me, the truth can always be told.”
Van den Bergh and Huybrechts reached the semi-finals last year, despite a mutual feud. — © PDC
“They can say whatever they want”
In the meantime, we are waiting for the decision of the DRA disciplinary committee, where two complaints were filed against Huybrechts, including one from Dimitri Van den Bergh. The latter said before the tournament that he would like to play the World Cup with Mike De Decker in June. The two regularly train together at Van den Bergh’s home.
“That doesn’t bother me,” Huybrechts responds. “I would also like to play with Ronny (his brother, ed.), but that won’t work. If they want to play with each other, that’s all fine, but as long as I’m in the top two in Belgium, I’ll be fine. I’m not going to give up my spot. Then they just have to forfeit and I’ll throw number four. Whatever they say, it doesn’t touch my cold clothes anymore. I’ve tried to get under my skin in the past, but I’m not going to let myself get caught again. Just ‘Kim Time’ this year and I don’t care about the rest.”