Kim Huybrechts

Kim Huybrechts
Personal information
Nickname The Hurricane
Born 16 November 1985
Belgium
Home town Antwerp
Belgium
Darts information
Playing darts since 1995
Laterality Right-handed
Walk-on music Hi Ho Silver Lining by Jeff Beck
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO 2006–2011
PDC 2011–
Current world ranking 16
BDO majors - best performances
World Masters Last 16: 2009
PDC premier events - best performances
World Ch'ship Quarter-finals: 2012
World Matchplay Last 32: 2012, 2013, 2014
World Grand Prix Last 32: 2012, 2013, 2014
Grand Slam Semi-finals: 2014
Premier League 10th: 2015
Ch'ship League 6th Winners group: 2013
European Ch'ship Semi-finals: 2012
UK Open Last 16: 2012, 2015
Players Ch'ship Finals Runner-up: 2012
The Masters First round: 2013, 2014
Other tournament wins
Belgium Gold Cup 2007
Belgium National Championships 2007
Belgium Open Pairs 2013, 2014
Flanders Open 2008
Killarney Pro Tour 2013
Oost Vlaanderen 2011
Open Venlo 2011
UK Open Qualifier 2013

European Tour Events

Dutch Darts Masters 2013
Other achievements
2014 First televised nine-dart finish

Kim Huybrechts (born 16 November 1985)[1] is a Belgian professional darts player currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation events.

Playing career

Early career

Huybrechts' first tournament wins came in 2007 at the Belgium Gold Cup and the Belgium National Championships. His only victory in a British Darts Organisation sanctioned event came at the 2008 Flanders Open where he defeated Geert de Vos 5–2 in the final.[2] Huybrechts reached the last 16 of the 2009 Winmau World Masters, losing 3–1 to Steve West on his televised debut.[3]

In September 2010, he was a quarter-finalist at a PDC Pro Tour Players Championship in Nuland.[4] Later that year, he narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2011 BDO World Darts Championship, losing to Arno Merk in the final qualifying round.[5]

In May 2011, he reached the semi-finals of a Players Championship in Vienna. He lost 6–5 to Denis Ovens, having missed three match darts.[6] This result helped him to qualify for the 2011 European Championship via the European Order of Merit.[7] In the first round, Huybrechts defeated Spain's Antonio Alcinas 6–2. He then beat Wes Newton 10–8 in the second round to book his place in the quarter-finals, where he narrowly lost 10–8 to world champion Adrian Lewis.[8]

Breakthrough

His performance during the European Championship and other Pro Tour Events secured him a place in the top 16 of the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit and thus a place in the World Championships for the first time. Huybrechts had a fantastic debut in the tournament as he managed to reach the quarter-finals. He enjoyed a dream first round match by defeating Brendan Dolan 3–0, with the Irishman only picking up two legs during the match[9] and continued his fine form to beat James Richardson 4–1 in the second round.[10] He dropped the first set in the last 16 against Paul Nicholson, but then went on an incredible run by winning 12 of the next 14 legs to triumph 4–1.[11] His tournament was ended in the last 8 by Andy Hamilton as he lost 2–5 with a 91.7 average, over 10 points lower than his opponents. Huybrechts revealed after the match that his performances had earned him new sponsors, which will help him play all the tournaments on the PDC circuit for two years and admitted that it was his "biggest achievement of his career to date".[12]

He then represented Belgium with Kurt van de Rijck in the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts and reached the quarter-finals, where they were defeated by Australia 1–3, having beaten Sweden in the second round.[13] Huybrechts made the final of the first UK Open qualifier, losing out to Wes Newton 3–6 after earlier beating Scott Rand, Simon Whitlock, Vincent van der Voort, Mark Stephenson, Mark Hylton, Michael van Gerwen and Stuart White.[14] Huybrechts earned a place in the European Tour 1 event in Vienna by defeating Tonči Restović and Jerry Hendricks in the European qualifier.[15] He enjoyed 6–3 and 6–0 wins over Andy Smith and Vincent van der Voort respectively, before losing in the third round to James Wade 1–6.[16] Huybrechts threw a nine-darter in a third round match in the seventh UK Open qualifier of the season against Terry Jenkins, but went on to lose 4–6.[17] He also qualified for the second European Tour event courtesy of wins over Carlos Rodríguez and Tonči Restović in the European Qualifier.[18] Huybrechts reached the quarter-finals where he was beaten by Simon Whitlock 4–6.[19]

At the UK Open he defeated Peter Hudson and Vincent van der Voort to face Wes Newton in the last 16.[20] Huybrechts led 7–4 having hit seven doubles from as many attempts, but his finishing power soon deserted him and he went on to miss five darts to win the game in the final leg and lost 8–9.[21] By July, Huybrechts had reached the quarter-final stage or better on ten occasions in PDC events in 2012,[22] meaning he qualified for the World Matchplay for the first time due to being the highest player on the ProTour Order of Merit who was not in the world's top 16.[23] He played Terry Jenkins in the first round and looked to be heading for a comfortable victory as he led 9–5. However, Huybrechts failed to convert multiple chances to take the match as he dropped six legs in a row to lose 9–11.[24]

Huybrechts went one better at the 2012 European Championship than his 2011 performance as he reached his maiden semi-final of a PDC major event.[25] He beat Vincent van der Voort and Ian White in the opening rounds,[26] before extending his record over Raymond van Barneveld to played five, won five, courtesy of a 10–8 victory.[27] In his semi-final he was beaten 9–11 by Simon Whitlock, but his run in the tournament saw him move into world's top 32 for the first time.[28] Huybrechts had a disastrous debut at the World Grand Prix in October, as he lost 0–2 in sets to Kevin Painter without winning a leg,[29] but returned to form at the Dutch Darts Masters, by reaching his fifth semi-final of the year. There, he was beaten 1–6 by Whitlock.[30]

After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Huybrechts finished ninth on the Order of Merit to qualify for the Players Championship Finals for the first time.[31] It was there that Huybrechts reached his debut major final with comfortable victories over Vincent van der Voort, Michael Smith, Peter Wright and Justin Pipe, with his average of 104.34 against Wright in the quarter-finals being at the time his highest on television.[32][33] He faced Phil Taylor in the final and kept pace in the early stages with Taylor's heavy scoring by clinically finishing legs on his own throw to level the match at 5–5. However, the pressure exerted on Huybrechts eventually told as he only won one out of the next nine legs to lose 6–13.[34]

2013

Huybrechts' father Ludo Huybrechts (1947–2012) passed away on 11 December nine days before his son's first round match in the 2013 World Championship. Huybrechts still decided to compete in the event and although he led 2–1 in sets against Scott Rand, he went on to lose 2–3.[35] However, after the tournament he broke into the world's top 20 for the first time.[36] Huybrechts partnered his brother Ronny in the World Cup of Darts, becoming the first brothers to do so and had a spectacular run to reach the final of the event. Highlights included a 5–1 doubles win over the Australian pair of Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson,[37] averaging 101.08 in beating Croatia 4–0 in the quarter-finals,[38] and averaging 105.47 in their semi-finals victory over Finland, at the time the highest ever in a doubles match in the history of the event.[39] They faced the English partnership of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis in the final, with Kim beating Lewis 4–0, but Ronny lost both of his singles matches. Kim had to defeat Taylor to force a doubles match to decide the title, however, he lost 1–4.[40] Huybrechts lost 5–6 to Michael van Gerwen in the sixth 2013 UK Open Qualifier of the year in April.[41] He went one better in the seventh event, sealing his first title on the PDC tour with a 6–2 win over John Part in the final having earlier exacted his revenge over van Gerwen in the fifth round by beating him 6–4.[42] His performances after all eight events had been played saw him finish third on the UK Open Order of Merit,[43] but he lost 6–9 to Terry Jenkins in the fourth round.[44] Huybrechts was the victim of clinical finishing in the first round of the World Grand Prix as Andy Hamilton hit six out of six doubles to beat him 2–0 in sets.[45] However, less than two weeks later he claimed his second Pro Tour title of 2013 at the 12th Players Championship by whitewashing Kevin Painter 6–0 in the final which included a 170 checkout in the second leg.[46] He then took the final spot for the Winners Group of the Championship League by winning Group 8 with a 6–4 success over Peter Wright in the final.[47] There, Huybrechts won three of his seven games to finish sixth in the eight man table.[48] The biggest title of Huybrechts' career to date followed as he claimed the Dutch Darts Masters in Veldhoven. He defeated Van Gerwen 6–3 in the semi-finals but saved his best performance for the final as he averaged 105.90 in defeating Brendan Dolan also by a 6–3 scoreline. Huybrechts said afterwards that he read text messages sent by his late father for inspiration before the final and dedicated the victory to him. His tournament average over the six games was 101.[49] Huybrechts was now into the top 16 on the Order of Merit and therefore earned a place in the inaugural Masters. He faced Adrian Lewis in the first round and missed two darts at tops in the deciding leg to lose 6–5 despite an average of 106.43.[50] Despite only winning one of his three group games at the Grand Slam of Darts, Huybrechts finished second to qualify for the last 16 on leg difference. He played Ronny which saw them become the first brothers to play in a televised darts match, with Kim winning 10–5.[51][52] Huybrechts played Lewis on his 28th birthday in the quarter-finals and was beaten 16–11.[53]

2014

Huybrechts qualified for the 2014 PDC World Darts Championship as the 12th seed and remarkably was drawn to once again face off with his brother Ronny in the first round. Kim survived a scare as he lost the first set and saw Ronny miss a total of five darts to win the second and recovered to triumph 3–1.[54] Kim described facing his brother as the hardest and most nerve-wracking game of his life and that he was also feeling sorry for Ronny when he was missing doubles.[55] Huybrechts hit back from 3–0 behind in the next round against Ian White to level the game, but missed too many chances in the deciding set to exit the tournament 4–3.[56] Huybrechts eliminated Ross Smith 9–5 at the UK Open, before losing by a reverse of this scoreline against James Wade in the fourth round.[57] Kim and Ronny comfortably progressed to the quarter-finals of the World Cup of Darts where they faced the Dutch number two seeds Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld. Kim produced a superb display to defeat Van Gerwen 4–2 with an average of 106.76, which included a crucial 160 finish in the fifth leg to break the Ducthman's throw when he was waiting on 36. However, Ronny then lost 4–2 to Van Barneveld meaning the tie went into a deciding doubles match which the brothers lost 4–0.[58] Huybrechts' first final in almost a year came at the 17th Players Championship by seeing off Van Gerwen 6–3 and, although he led Wade 5–3, he was beaten 6–5.[59]

After early exits at the World Grand Prix, European Championship and the Masters, Huybrechts qualified from his group in the Grand Slam with a 5–1 win over Darren Webster.[60] He then beat BDO player Alan Norris 10–5 and was involved in the game of his career to date against Van Gerwen in the quarter-finals. Huybrechts started exceptionally to lead 12–3 with an average over 110, before Van Gerwen cut the gap to 13–7. Huybrechts responded with his first televised nine-dart finish and defeated the reigning world champion 16–10.[61][62] His semi-final match against Dave Chisnall swung in the favour of both players as Huybrechts was 4–1 behind, before edging 14–12 ahead but ultimately lost four of the last five legs to succumb to a 16–15 defeat.[63]

2015

At the 2015 World Championship, Huybrechts gained revenge for his 4–3 loss against Ian White 12 months earlier by beating him by a reversal of this scoreline, winning six of the last seven legs.[64] His third round opponent Phil Taylor criticised Huybrechts' tendency to overly celebrate and jump when he wins legs before their match.[65] Huybrechts appeared undeterred by the comments as he celebrated almost every important visit to the board and leg winning doubles which saw him lead Taylor on three different occasions. However, he lost the deciding set without taking a leg to be edged out 4–3.[66] Following the World Championship final, Huybrechts was named as a PDC Wildcard to compete in the 2015 Premier League Darts.[67] He was beaten 7–3 by Van Gerwen on the opening night.[68] On the fourth night Huybrechts and Dave Chisnall both averaged 107.01, but Huybrechts was beaten 7–4.[69] A week later he picked up his first win in the event by defeating Raymond van Barneveld 7–5 with an average of 105.59.[70] It proved to be his only win in the event and he was relegated in week nine as he was bottom of the table.[71] In the fifth round of the UK Open, Van Gerwen hit his highest ever televised average of 114.91 as he overcame Huybrechts 9–2.[72]

Personal life

Huybrechts' brother, Ronny, also competes on the PDC circuit and has won the Belgium Masters in 2010 and the Belgium National Championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011.[73][74]

Kim and his partner Dana had their first child in 2013.

Tournament Finals

PDC premier event finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2012 Players Championship Finals England Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor 6–13 (l)

World Championship results

PDC

Nine-dart finishes

Kim Huybrechts televised nine-dart finishes
Date Opponent Tournament Method Prize
14 November 2014 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12

References

  1. ↑ "Achter de Oche met Kim Huybrechts". Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  2. ↑ "2008 Flanders Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  3. ↑ "2009 World Masters Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Wade Snaps Up Dutch Win PDC.tv
  5. ↑ "2011 BDO Hull qualifier". dartsdatabase.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  6. ↑ Part Defies Heat For Vienna Victory PDC.tv
  7. ↑ "2011 European Championship Qualifiers". Darts Database. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  8. ↑ "2011 European Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "World Championship – Night Four". PDC. December 18, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  10. ↑ "World Championship – Day Ten". PDC. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  11. ↑ "World Championship – Day 12". PDC. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  12. ↑ "World Championship Quarter-Finals". PDC. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Cash Converters World Cup Quarter-Finals Round-Up". PDC. 5 February 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  14. ↑ "Speedy Hire UK Open Qualifier One". PDC. 11 February 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  15. ↑ "European Qualifiers Win Austria Spots". PDC. 8 April 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  16. ↑ "2012 PDC European Tour Vienna Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  17. ↑ "Seventh Heaven For Jenkins". PDC. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  18. ↑ "European Stars Seal Berlin Places". PDC. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  19. ↑ "German Darts Champs - Sun Eve". PDC. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  20. ↑ "2012 UK Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  21. ↑ "Speedy Services UK Open RD5". PDC. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  22. ↑ "Kim Huybrechts Player Details". Darts Database. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  23. ↑ "Betfair World Matchplay Field". PDC. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  24. ↑ "Lewis whitewashes Thornton". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  25. ↑ "PartyPoker.net Euro Champs - Sat". PDC. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  26. ↑ "2012 European Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  27. ↑ "Kim Huybrechts V Raymond van Barneveld Head To Head". Darts Database. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  28. ↑ "Whitlock Is European King!". PDC. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  29. ↑ "PartyPoker.com WGP - Monday". PDC. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  30. ↑ "Whitlock Claims Dutch Masters Win". PDC. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  31. ↑ "Minehead Qualifiers Confirmed". PDC. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  32. ↑ "2012 Players Championship Finals Fixtures". Darts Database. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  33. ↑ "Cash Converters PCF QFs". PDC. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  34. ↑ "Cash Converters PCF Final". PDC. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  35. ↑ "Ladbrokes WDC Day Seven". PDC. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  36. ↑ "Order Of Merit on 1 January 2013". PDC. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  37. ↑ "Betfair World Cup of Darts - Last 16". PDC. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  38. ↑ "Betfair World Cup of Darts - Quarter-Finals". PDC. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  39. ↑ "Betfair World Cup of Darts - Semi-Finals". PDC. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  40. ↑ "Betfair World Cup Joy For England". PDC. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  41. ↑ "Four-Some Van Gerwen Wins Again!". PDC. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  42. ↑ "Seventh Heaven For Huybrechts". PDC. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  43. ↑ "2013 UK Open Order Of Merit". PDC. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  44. ↑ "Speedy Services UK Open - Fourth Round". PDC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  45. ↑ "partypoker.com World Grand Prix Day Two". PDC. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  46. ↑ "Huybrechts Storms To Killarney Win". PDC. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  47. ↑ "Hurricane Storms To Amazing Victory". PDC. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  48. ↑ "Taylor Seals Championship League Treble". PDC. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  49. ↑ "Superb Huybrechts is Dutch Master". PDC. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  50. ↑ "The Coral Masters First Round". PDC. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  51. ↑ "Brothers In Arms Face Grand Clash!". PDC. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  52. ↑ "William Hill Grand Slam Day Six". PDC. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  53. ↑ "William Hill Grand Slam Day Eight". PDC. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  54. ↑ "Ladbrokes World Championship Day Four". PDC. 16 December 2013.
  55. ↑ "World Darts Championship: Devon Petersen, Ricky Evans earn big wins at Alexandra Palace". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  56. ↑ "Ladbrokes World Championship Day Nine". PDC. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  57. ↑ "Coral UK Open - Saturday Afternoon". PDC. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  58. ↑ "bwin World Cup of Darts Quarter-Finals". PDC. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  59. ↑ "Battling Wade Edges Crawley Triumph". PDC. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  60. ↑ "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam - Monday". PDC. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  61. ↑ "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam - Friday". PDC. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  62. ↑ "Grand Slam of Darts: Kim Huybrechts hits nine-darter to beat Michael van Gerwen in Wolverhampton". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  63. ↑ "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam Semi-Finals". PDC. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  64. ↑ "William Hill World Championship Day Eight". PDC. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  65. ↑ "Phil Taylor warns Kim Huybrechts 'there will be trouble' if Belgian starts jumping around during World Darts Championships clash". Daily Mail. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  66. ↑ "William Hill World Championship Day Ten". PDC. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  67. ↑ "Premier League Darts: Stephen Bunting, Kim Huybrechts and James Wade included". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  68. ↑ "Betway Premier League Night One". PDC. 6 February 2015.
  69. ↑ "Betway Premier League Night Four". PDC. 7 March 2015.
  70. ↑ "Betway Premier League Night Five". PDC. 7 March 2015.
  71. ↑ "Betway Premier League Judgement Night". PDC. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  72. ↑ "Coral UK Open Fifth Round". PDC. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  73. ↑ "Ronny Huybrechts Profile". Darts Database. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  74. ↑ "Kim Huybrechts - The Next Big Thing? We Say Yes!". Uk Darts Magazine. Retrieved 30 July 2012.

External links