DIMITRI VAN DEN BERGH will fulfil a darting dream when he makes his World Series of Darts debut at the German Darts Masters in Gelsenkirchen on Friday.
The World Championship quarter-finalist will become the first Belgian to star in a World Series event (away from the World Series of Darts Finals) when he takes to the stage at the Veltins Arena.
The home of FC Shalke 04 will be transformed into a "Darts Music Arena" for the one-day spectacle, with a record-breaking crowd of over 20,000 passionate German fans expected.
Van den Bergh faces the tough task of silencing the crowd in round one as he takes on Berlin star Martin Schindler, but the reigning PDC World Youth Champion is relishing the prospect.
“I’m really excited to be playing in a huge football stadium,” said Van den Bergh, who was a quarter-finalist in the 2017 World Series of Darts Finals.
“When you are a young dart player you dream of playing in events like this and now this dream is going to come true for me.
“It’s going to be amazing playing in front of such a huge crowd but I feel like I am made to play on the big stage, whether it’s 20,000 people or half a million people!
“This will be a new experience for me because I’m used to being the crowd favourite.
“Martin will have his German fans behind him but that won’t affect me, I will focus on my own game.”
Friday’s event will see Van den Bergh make his first televised appearance since his incredible run to the World Championship quarter-finals which saw him lose to eventual champion Rob Cross in a 5-4 thriller.
The exciting Belgian star’s rise will continue later this month as he represents his country for the first time in the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt, but the 23-year-old is taking it one tournament at a time.
“It will be great to be back on TV again for the first time since the World Championship and I hope to be appearing many more times this year,” Van den Bergh added.
“I’m going to enjoy every minute of my time up on the stage and come away with a great experience.
“I will give it my best shot and see how far I can go, hopefully I can go far in the tournament.
“Who knows? Maybe there will be a surprise winner.”
Eight leading German players will compete in the tournament, led by German Darts Open champion Max Hopp, who will be hoping for first career win against Michael van Gerwen.
The first round will be split across two mini-sessions at 3pm and 5.30pm local time, with the quarter-finals kicking off a bumper evening session from 8pm.
The intervals will see music acts on stage at the Veltins Arena to complement the unique World Series of Darts tournament.
The German Darts Masters will be shown live on ITV4 from 1.45pm-6.30pm and 7pm-12am.
Fans outside the UK and the Netherlands can watch in PDCTV-HD.
Tickets for the 2018 German Darts Masters are still available and can be purchased via THIS LINK.
2018 German Darts Masters
First Round Draw
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Max Hopp
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Martin Schindler
Gary Anderson (4) v Gabriel Clemens
Jamie Lewis v Nico Kurz
Peter Wright (2) v Dragutin Horvat
Raymond van Barneveld v Manfred Bilderl
Rob Cross (3) v Stefan Stoyke
Mensur Suljovic v Robert Marijanovic
Schedule of Play
First Round
3pm Local Time
Raymond van Barneveld v Manfred Bilderl
Jamie Lewis v Nico Kurz
Mensur Suljovic v Robert Marijanovic
Gary Anderson v Gabriel Clemens
5.30pm Local time
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Martin Schindler
Michael van Gerwen v Max Hopp
Peter Wright v Dragutin Horvat
Rob Cross v Stefan Stoyke
Best of 11 legs
Quarter-Finals
8pm Local Time
Anderson/Clemens v Lewis/Kurz
Van Gerwen/Hopp v Van den Bergh/Schindler
Wright/Horvat v Van Barneveld/Bilderl
Cross/Stoyke v Suljovic/Marijanovic
Best of 15 legs
Semi-Finals
Anderson/Clemens/Lewis/Kurz v Van Gerwen/Hopp/Van den Bergh/Schindler
Wright/Horvat/Van Barneveld/Bilderl v Cross/Stoyke/Suljovic/Marijanovic
Best of 15 legs
Final
v
Best of 15 legs
2018 PDC World Series of Darts Events
German Darts Masters May 25, Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
U.S. Darts Masters July 6-7, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, USA
Shanghai Darts Masters July 13-14, Pullman Hotel Shanghai South, China
Auckland Darts Masters August 3-5, Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
Melbourne Darts Masters August 10-12, Hisense Arena, Melbourne, Australia
Brisbane Darts Masters August 17-19, BCEC, Brisbane, Australia
World Series of Darts Finals November 2-4, Multiversum, Schwechat, Vienna, Austria
Ticket info at https://www.pdc.tv/world-series-darts-event-tickets