Van den Bergh booed by fans as he beats world champion Humphries in UK Open

DIMITRI Van den Bergh’s delaying tactics almost cost him the UK Open title, according to ITV expert Chris Mason.

The Belgian recorded an 11-10 victory over world champion Luke Humphries in an exciting final in Minehead on Sunday evening.

Dimitri Van Den Bergh takes a long break ahead of the 19th stageCredit: Not known, clearly with photo agency

An angry Luke Humphries then fought back to level the match

But the crowd started to captivate after Van den Bergh took an extended drinks break as he led the match 10-8.

Humphries looked visibly fed up as he waited for Van den Bergh to step to the oche.

But after hearing the boos, he gestured to the crowd to stop booing while Van den Bergh was throwing.

The moment seemed to take the world number 14 out of his game.

Incredibly, he missed six match darts in the next two legs when he choked before crossing the finish line.

In the end it went to a deciding leg and Humphries missed two match darts to win a fourth consecutive major title, with Van den Bergh winning the £110,000 top prize.

Former player Mason said: “The one thing that stands out to me. Dimitri was almost the author of his own downfall.

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“Luke is the kind of player who likes to just get on with things.

“To create the perfect match, like we saw between Luke Littler and Damon Heta, you need a good dance partner.

“Dimitri was anything but that. The public is so well informed that they noticed that early on. They turned against him. In the end he was lucky to cross the line.”