DIMITRI Van den Bergh’s slowing down tactics almost cost him the UK Open title, according to ITV pundit Chris Mason.
The Belgian snatched a last-gasp 11-10 win over world champion Luke Humphries in a tense final in Minehead on Sunday night.
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But the crowd started to boo after Van den Bergh took an extended drink break when leading the match 10-8.
Humphries could be seen looking visibly fed up as he waited for Van den Bergh to step towards the oche.
But, after hearing the boos, he then gestured to the crowd to stop jeering as Van den Bergh was throwing.
The moment appeared to throw the world number 14 off his game.
Incredibly, he missed six match darts over the next two legs as he choked before getting over the finishing line.
In the end it went to a deciding leg and Humphries missed two match darts to win a fourth successive major title with Van den Bergh winning the £110,000 top prize.
Former player Mason said: “The one stand-out thing for me. Dimitri was nearly the creator of his own downfall.
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“Luke’s the kind of player who likes to just get on with it.
“To create the perfect match like we’ve seen between Luke Littler and Damon Heta, you’ve got to have a good dance partner.
“Dimitri was anything but that. The crowd are so knowledgeable, they picked up on that quite early on. They turned on him. He was very fortunate in the end to get over the line.”
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