There were troubles in my head. I wasn’t winning any more. I wasn’t a nice man to be around. I’m happy that I realised it was too soon to retire
WHEN Raymond van Barneveld first retired from darts in 2019, he had no idea what to do next. The five-time world champion was 52 but gone was the buzz and the excitement that had shaped his life ever since he got a dartboard as a present for his 17th birthday.
Knowing when to retire is one of the trickiest things for those in professional sport. Most say they know when the time comes, but often it is a case of leaving it too late or trying to go out on a high.
In the case of ‘Barney’, it was all way too early.
‘I’ll never forgive myself. I will hate myself every single day,’ he said back in December 2019 after a first-round exit against American Darin Young at the World Championships marked the end of an illustrious career.
Within a year, he had reversed his retirement and on Friday night, the Dutchman got off to a good start in his 31st World Championship when he saw off Cork bus driver Radek Szaganski – a native of Poland – in the second round on a 3-1 scoreline. Only Steve Beaton has featured in more World Championships.
‘I had my reasons for retiring,’ Van Barneveld, 56, tells Mail Sport. ‘There were troubles in my head and I wasn’t winning any more. And if you know you’re good but it just isn’t working out, it becomes harder and harder.
‘I wasn’t a nice man to be around any more. I was depressed and thought it would be a good idea to just give up.
‘I thought I could do exhibitions and it would be better to live without the stress of winning and losing. But I couldn’t do anything because of Covid. There were no exhibitions. I wasn’t earning any money.’
Van Barneveld split from his wife Sylvia in 2019, not long after she was the victim of an armed burglary of their family home in The Hague. Van Barneveld was in Barnsley, playing an exhibition tournament at the time.
The decision to return to action was simple.
Were it not for the pandemic, he would most likely be doing media duties at Alexandra Palace for the Paddy Power World Darts Championship this winter.
‘I was more busy with what people would think about me coming back, but none of them could look into my account and see I was divorcing,’ says Van Barneveld. ‘I’m happy I realised that it was too soon to retire.’
Yet he insists that regardless of the financial implications, he could not live without darts. Put simply, he couldn’t live without the hype. After all, this is the man whose impact on darts in the Netherlands is akin to what his compatriot Max Verstappen has done in recent years with Formula One.
Van Barneveld’s 1998 World Championship win, watched by almost a quarter of the Dutch population, fuelled a darting frenzy that changed the game for ever. He successfully defended his title a year later (below).
‘I was a postman in 1997, then I became the world champion and everything changed,’ he says. ‘I would do 20 to 30 events a month, had tulip roses named after me and even flew an F-16.’
Since his return, Van Barneveld has married again, to an English woman 18 years his junior called Julia, and has a honeymoon planned for January.
But for now, the focus is on going as far as he can at the Ally Pally.
He has ditched the earplugs on stage to appreciate the crowd, but his preparation is as diligent as ever, with an average of six to eight hours of daily training. ‘I always practise with the same shoes so it’s as similar to being on stage, but you can’t train the nerves,’ Van Barneveld says. ‘It’s like taking penalties in training and then trying to do it in a match when thousands are watching you. You can prepare but you can’t replicate.’
That adrenaline buzz sees Van Barneveld quietly optimistic about his chances, despite the fact he is ranked 29th and in the same quarter of the draw as former champions Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson, not to mention teenage sensation Luke Littler.
‘The fans — I get so much energy from them and it gives me so much confidence,’ he says. ‘This is the most important title. No one talks about other tournaments. They are still great titles, but to be a world champion is a different level. It’s not for many players.
‘Only a few have won multiple titles, so it’s not for everyone. Look at James Wade — a top-quality player, but he’s never played in a World Championship final. They belong to the elite.’
Although it is 16 years since Van Barneveld’s last success at Ally Pally, when he beat Phil Taylor in a legendary final, he admits nothing will match the first success in 1998. On the 25th anniversary, he has even released commemorative darts.
‘From working as a postman to finishing the year with my dream come true, that will always be my favourite memory,’ he says. ‘Some people in Holland thought the buzz wouldn’t last long but 25 years later, I’m still going strong.
‘The earnings in this game are all going up and with the standard of new players, the game is only growing.’
It will be music to the ears of darts fans that Van Barneveld has no plans of heading back into retirement any time soon.
‘My next step is to get back to the top 16 in the world. Trust me, I will be in the top 16 in the world next year. I believe I can win — I have just got to work hard and throw doubles. Trust me.’
RAYMOND van Barneveld was speaking to Mail Sport, courtesy of Target Darts. Special Edition Barney25 darts to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of his first World Championship darts title are available to purchase now at www.target-darts.co.uk