Kim Huybrechts has credited his work with Erik Clarys for a career resurgence, highlighted by a convincing 6-1 win over Luke Woodhouse at the 2026 German Darts Grand Prix in Munich. Huybrechts posted the first 100+ average of the tournament to book his place in the final day, continuing a strong run of form after reaching the last 16 in Wieze. "Yeah, very happy," Huybrechts told DartsNews. "Of course, Luke Woodhouse is knocking on the door of the top 20. I'm miles away from that, but beating a player of that calibre means a lot."
The Belgian revealed that his momentum stems from intense practice sessions with Clarys, even after grueling schedules. "I've been working a lot with Erik Clarys," Huybrechts said. "Even after some tournaments... like in Wieze, I played on the Sunday and on Monday he texted me saying he was coming over for a two or three hour practice session. I was like, wow." He added that after qualifying for Graz and Sindelfingen, he got home at around 3:00 in the morning, only for Clarys to text at 10:00 for another session. "I was like, give me a break, man. But now it's paying off."
The focus of their work has been on finishing, with Clarys identifying it as a weak point. "A lot of finishing," Huybrechts explained. "He says one of my weakest points over the past years has been my finishing, so we've really been working hard on that." Clarys's approach involves highlighting weaknesses rather than overhauling Huybrechts's game. "He always says to me, 'I can't make you better, but I can show you the weak points.' And we've been focusing on those weak points a lot over the last six months, and it's working out."
At the start of the season, Huybrechts's main goal was to retain his PDC Tour Card, but his improved form has shifted ambitions toward a potential World Matchplay spot. "I'm close to the Matchplay now," he said. "It wasn't a goal at the start, it would be a bonus. But if you're close, you have to make it a bit of a goal." However, he emphasized that his primary objective remains unchanged: "If I miss out, I won't be disappointed because that wasn't the main target. But after three months of the season, you can start to sharpen your goals a bit. So now, yes, the Matchplay becomes a goal, but the first goal is still to keep my Tour Card and have a solid season. And I'm on my way to doing that."
