John Gwynne has come face-to-face with Raymond van Barneveld, the four-times Embassy World Champion who joined the PDC in February, for an exclusive interview for the 2007 issue of Darts Player.
Here is an excerpt from that exchange:
John Gwynne: Well Raymond, it's been a bit different this year. Have you enjoyed it?
Raymond van Barneveld: It started with me playing in the Lakeside World Championship and reaching the final and it will end with me playing in the Ladbrokes.com World Championship in Purfleet, so you can say that it will have been an eventful one!
JG: Did you know, when you were playing in that Lakeside final, that you were going to join the PDPA? Had it been established?
RvB: Not at all. That is what everyone assumes but, in fact, the decision was taken two days after I'd won the Dutch Open in early February. It was a decision which took everyone by surprise - even Sylvia, my wife, was astounded by it. But she understood.
JG: Well, why did you?
RvB: Look, it's not about politics. It's not about the BDO versus the PDC or anything like that, although the PDC are moving forward with great pace. It's about taking on the best and, in Phil Taylor, you have the best. No-one in his or her right mind will dispute that. I asked myself if, when I'm older, I might look back on my career and regret not having taken him on. I came to the conclusion that, for my own professional pride, I had to join the PDC. After all, that's where Phil Taylor plays!
Read the full interview in Darts Player 2007, available now.