Peter Wright has sent out a message of support to Dimitri Van den Bergh, after the Belgian star's surprise exit from the PDC World Darts Championship in the first round. The 31-year-old was dumped out of the competition by Darren Beveridge in a 3-0 thrashing.

"Ice Cold" got off to a quicker start, as a downbeat Van den Bergh struggled to battle back and hit the form that he is capable of. In the end, the world number 23 was unable to mount a comeback, as he suffered from another setback in what has been a tough year.

Former World Champion Wright came out with a message of support for his old friend, following his own victory in the afternoon session of day five. He told reporters: "I haven't been in touch with Dimi for a little while, but he's quite welcome to come and have a chat with me.

"But the way I'm playing, would you take the advice? I don't know. Dimi's a class player, he'll be back. He's going through things. He's got a family, which is more important than darts.

"You've got your family. He wants to be with his kids and then trying to earn a living in darts with players who want to destroy you if you're just not quite on your game. It's ruthless."

Van den Bergh addressed his own struggles on an Instagram story shortly after the match, as he said: "There are no words for tonight besides telling you it was very bad. I know I worked hard but no confidence, no self-belief was with me on the stage.

"I still want to say THANK YOU for all the support worldwide. All the very best to Darren Beveridge. Good Luck mate! One day I will be back cuz I keep working hard."

While Van den Bergh is now out of the reckoning for this year's PDC World Darts Championship, there are plenty of high hopes set on Beveridge. The Scotsman will take on Madars Razma, the world number 46, in the second round of the competition.

"This is one of the greatest days of my life. I cannot believe it honestly," he said after completing the first round victory. "This is absolutely fantastic. I dreamed of this when I was 13 years old. It's very, very surreal. It's like a childhood dream of mine.

"I'm 33 now so 19 years later being on this stage now is absolutely amazing. It's not really sunk in yet, it'll probably hit me later on when I get back to bed and my heartbeat stops racing, but I'm absolutely over the moon.

"I know I've got that in me, so I was just trying to keep myself composed in the players room and stuff. I know if I play well I can win games of that, so that's what I was trying to do really, to be honest."

Beveridge, who is an aeroplane parts quality inspector, is looking to save his tour card with another big performance in the next round. As for Wright, who sent the message to Van den Bergh, his win over Noa-Lynn van Leuven in the first round means he is now set to face off with Arno Merk.

The 55-year-old has been bullish about his chances this year, believing he can add another World Championship to his CV.