Raymond van Barneveld’s career seemed to have come to an unfortunate and agonising end when he bowed out of the 2019/20 World Championship with a shock first round defeat against America’s Darin Young.
It would have been an end unbefitting of one of darts’ most significant players, but the retirement was cut short when the Dutch great decided he missed the game and decided to make a swift return to professional darts.
Here, PDCTV commentator Chris Murphy, gives four reasons why Barney is in better shape now than he was ahead of that deflating last World Championship appearance:
1. No impending retirement
The announcement of van Barneveld’s retirement itself seemed to put the five-time World Champion under more pressures than he was prepared for. Having reached at least the quarter-finals at Ally Pally five times in six years between 2013 and 2018, he decided to reveal his decision to retire 13 months before the date he had chosen to bow out.
Van Barneveld subsequently lost his first match against Darius Labanauskas in the 2018/19 event before enduring a difficult year on tour in what was supposed to be his glorious swansong season.
He even announced his intention to quit early following a Premier League defeat to Michael van Gerwen in Rotterdam before reversing the decision the following day. The defeat to Young in the 2019/20 World Championship saw Barney’s farewell end in a brutal way. Perhaps, the absence of such a distraction will help the legendary figure as much as the presence of it hindered him two years ago.
2. Nothing to prove
Van Barneveld’s successful past seemed to add an extra weight of pressure during his last visit to Alexandra Palace. The determination to go out on high and prove that he could still dine at darts’ top table, along with the added heaviness of media attention and of not wanting to let his ‘Barney Army’ of fans down made the Dutchman’s task more difficult.
In his previous World Championship outing, van Barneveld was trying to cling on to a favourable ranking position and defend semi-final ranking prize money from two years earlier. Those burdens undoubtedly played their part in the disappointing demise of the Dutch legend but, having been is own harshest critic, Barney seems to have a new attitude and approach which should relieve pressure rather than add to it.
Putting the highs and lows of the past behind him could be vital to playing without unnecessary darting duress. He has no prize money to defend, no high expectations and the freedom to just play darts. A relaxed van Barneveld is a better van Barneveld.
3. Dedication
One of the things that was often questioned towards the end of the last decade was how dedicated van Barneveld was to the sport. One of the reasons he found himself dropping down the rankings was his unwillingness to play in many events.
This year, however, he has played in all but one of the PDC’s Players Championship tournaments – giving him more regular competitive experience and helping him qualify for televised tournaments in the lead up to the World Championship, including the Players Championship Finals and the Grand Slam of Darts.
4. Back to winning ways
His retirement year may have turned into a nightmare, but van Barneveld’s comeback began like a dream. Some doubted whether one of darts’ most decorated stars would even make it through Qualifying School. He passed that test with flying colours earning a return to the ProTour circuit.
Incredibly it took van Barneveld just three tournaments to claim his first ranking title since 2013 when defeated Joe Cullen to win his 17th career ProTour title. The Dutchman had struggled to cope with failing to enjoy that winning feeling on a more regular basis and picking up a title this year is undoubtedly a boost for him ahead of his Ally Pally return.
Van Barneveld meets Lourence Ilagan in his first round match on Monday evening.
The William Hill World Darts Championship is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and RTL7, and on PDCTV (excluding UK and Netherlands based subscribers).
2021/22 William Hill World Darts Championship
Schedule of Play
Monday December 20 (1900 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
(R1) Luke Woodhouse v James Wilson
(R1) Rusty-Jake Rodriguez v Ben Robb
(R1) Raymond van Barneveld v Lourence Ilagan
(R2) James Wade v Maik Kuivenhoven
Best of five sets (no tie-breaks in round one matches)