I LOST THE POWER Barneveld: Phil Taylor retirement has robbed me of my motivation
TORMENTED Raymond van Barneveld’s plan for a long goodbye may have been trashed by the wrong goodbye.
Barney’s shock first-round exit at the William Hill PDC World Championship left the five-time world champion in danger of dropping out of the top 32 in the rankings.
If he falls the wrong side of the dotted line, Van Barneveld, 51, would have to qualify for his planned passing-out parade at Alexandra Palace next December.
And for the broken man who shuffled out of Ally Pally after his 3-2 defeat by Lithuanian outsider Darius Labanauskas, ranked a lowly No.108 in the world, it could be the end of the world. Without a major tournament win in more than four years, Barney has reached breaking point.
The humble former postman from the Hague wanted to turn 2019 into a farewell tour, taking the final curtain on the world championship stage.
He could still get a Premier League wild card in the New Year, because the Thursday night circus is an invitational event heavily subsidised by Dutch TV. But the dream farewell at Ally Pally is now under serious threat because without enough ranking points, Barney would have to qualify for the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam... and World Championship.
Speaking earlier this month, he told Mirror Sport: “The motivation left a bit when Phil Taylor retired – he was always the one to beat as well as being one of my heroes.
‘‘Now I’m looking at having to qualify for the major ranking events, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘Ray, as a five-time world champion, do you really want to go through all that again? Go back to scratch?’
“I’ve had enough of all the defeats, the late nights, the early wake-up calls, and living out of a suitcase for most of the year.
“Dealing with defeat is the hardest part. Sometimes you go on stage feeling good, and two minutes later you’re gone.
“It eats away at your soul. You are losing the drive, losing the focus, and then the moment arrives when you don’t love the sport any more and only see it as a job.
“You have to be realistic, and maybe my time is done. There are no targets left, except one more world championship.
“We all know we can’t beat Phil’s record of 16 world titles, so you can only aim to be the best of the rest. I know I can still win championships, but I also know I can’t do it for the whole year because my body and mind won’t allow it.”
Barney is also wracked with guilt over an armed break-in at his home last June which left wife Silvia in deep shock.
Van Barneveld added: “I was at an exhibition in Scotland when three guys broke into my house at 6.15am on a Saturday, when my wife was home alone, and she had a loaded gun held at her head. I can’t forgive myself that I wasn’t there for her. She is afraid to live in the house.”
Afternoon session (12.30pm), 1st round –
2nd round –
Evening session (7pm), 2nd round –