Darts player who is 'addicted' to Football Manager labelled 'lazy' by his own wife after World Championship exit

Dana Verhaegen-Huybrechts, the wife of darts player Kim Huybrechts, has described her husband as "lazy", "spoiled" and a Football Manager addict.

Kim Huybrechts failed to win a single leg on December 23 as he suffered a devastating 3-0 defeat to Richard Veenstra in the second round of this year's World Championship tournament in London.

Last year, the 38-year-old picked up victories over Peter Wright and Grant Sampson before being eliminated in the round of 16 by Belgian teammate Dimitri Van den Bergh.

But this time around, the Antwerp-born thrower was eliminated at the very first hurdle by Veenstra, who recorded an impressive 99.46 average at the Alexandra Palace.

"This is perhaps the biggest disappointment of my career," Huybrechts told Dutch publication Het Nieuwsblad afterwards.

'The Hurricane', who is currently ranked 31st in the PDC Order of Merit, would also claim that his preparations were scuppered by media reports surrounding his so-called feud with Dimitri Van den Bergh.

But his wife has appeared to suggest that his commitment to playing popular computer game Football Manager has also played a role in this year's disappointing World Championship campaign.

Speaking to Nieuwsblad Sport, she said: "Kim is actually a spoiled brat. He's addicted to Football Manager while I do everything around the house.

"Kim has so much talent, but no character. Lazy is an understatement."

Verhaegen-Huybrechts does believe, however, that her husband is capable of beating anyone in the world on his day.

“It's inhuman how he stands here sometimes throwing,” she added. “One 180 after another. I believe he can win against anyone if he is on form. Even Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen.”

The Belgian was understandably distraught after last month's whitewash defeat to Veenstra but he has vowed to bounceback in the coming months.

“From 2024 it's just Kim Huybrechts and nobody else. I'm not going to look at other players in the world anymore," Huybrechts said.

"Number one, two or three in the world, it doesn't interest me anymore. Also, the other Belgians. I tried to take them pretty far, but I don't care about all that now either."

Featured Image Credit: Getty Images

Topics: Darts, Football Manager

Jack Kenmare

Senior Journalist at SPORTbible with a passion for long-form journalism. Almost 10 years’ experience across online and print.

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