In the Netherlands, most sports fans knew Berry van Peer (27) mainly from his Grand Slam match, where he had difficulty releasing his arrows due to the condition darteritis. A lot has changed for the darts player from Zundert since 2017. This week he made his debut at the Darts World Cup with a victory. His brother, teammate and supporter Carlo (31) from Rucphen has great admiration for Berry. “He earned it through hard work.”
Darteritus is a terrible thing to experience as a darts player. Carlo witnessed his brother’s struggle up close. “What many people don’t know was that he got through his group despite the darts challenge. The fact that he had difficulty throwing was all over the media, which is of course not nice. I think it took Berry about two years to get rid of it. All alone, purely through hard training. He has not sought mental help, although there is now someone he can turn to when he is in a slump.”
“Due to bruised ribs, paracetamol was essential.”
More than six years after the much-discussed match, the Brabander was finally at the World Cup. Fortunately, not with darts, but Berry did struggle with physical problems. Carlo: “Berry fell down the stairs last week while trying to take out the trash. He held himself back with his right arm, fortunately without damage to his arm. He did bruise two ribs, so paracetamol was a must.”
In Luke Woodhouse, Berry met the best opponent he could face. “The first 32 darts players were placed, Luke was one spot lower. It was a top debut, in which he showed that he can throw well and has no stage fright. Afterwards our phones blew up. Great to see that there was attention everywhere in the media for his performance. I have not read a negative reaction anywhere.”
“Good friends, but that doesn’t count during a match.”
On Saturday evening, number 23 in the world rankings Josh Rock will be the opponent in the second round. “They are good friends, but that doesn’t count during a match. If Josh reaches his high level, he will be a very tough opponent. But if Berry focuses and accelerates, he can beat him. He’s done that before.”
“I can really beat him.”
The Van Peer family is crazy about darts. Father and mother are real enthusiasts and both sons trained together from an early age. “We have been on the same teams for a long time. Still locally, but not in the national SuperLeague since this year.”
As a substitute, Carlo was allowed to participate in the ProTour once. “Two brothers were unique among the pros. Which of us is better? Berry has a little more talent and has been at the top for a longer time. But if we face each other in training, I can really beat him.”
See below for the ‘darteritus competition’ in 2017:
Waiting for privacy settings…