RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD hopes that his nine-darter in the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts can inspire him to a successful year.
The Dutchman has had a tough Premier League season, sinking to the foot of the table with five successive losses recently.
However, he ended that run in spectacular fashion by hitting a nine-darter during an 8-6 win over Terry Jenkins in Aberdeen on Thursday night.
The five-time World Champion is now bidding to end the season with wins over Mervyn King and Ronnie Baxter in his final two games and return to action at the StanJames.com World Matchplay in July in top form.
Click here to watch Raymond van Barneveld's nine-darter in PDCtv!
"To finish seventh or eighth in the Premier League is a poor performance from me because I've always been in the semi-finals in the last four years but now I'm fighting to finish as high as I can," he said.
"After Thursday I'm not thinking that I can sit back and think I'm back again - I almost gave Terry a draw when I was 6-1 up.
"It's still not perfect but I'm very happy with the win and I'm building for the future. The nine-darter was incredible and it's the first one on TV in Scotland so that's special for me.
"It could be a turning point and I believe I can have a good rest of the year.
"I've got to build, believe in myself and practice hard and I still believe that I can win majors in the future - if I play like I did on Thursday I can beat anyone."
Van Barneveld completed a league double over Jenkins with the win - having produced the season's highest average in his other defeat of the world number five - and hit a nine-darter with a new set of darts as he started his road back to the top.
"I'd lost five weeks on the trot and even though you always try to do your best, the darts weren't going in and I was giving my opponents every chance to beat me," he said.
"Last week I looked in the mirror and said I had to change some things.
"It's not been the real Barney in the last few weeks but the fans deserve to know that I've had personal problems and my private life was upside down. That's in the past now I hope and I'm relieved.
"I've got work very hard because the other players are brilliant, and I'm back in the gym, on a diet and I hope will be back fit and well in the World Matchplay.
"I'm more of a knockout player and I can focus better on knockout games than a league and I'll look forward to Blackpool."