Van Barneveld opens up on why he give up the game… then got here again

When Raymond van Barneveld first retired from darts in 2019, he had no concept what to do subsequent.

The five-time world champion was 52 however gone was the thrill and the thrill that had formed his life ever since he acquired a dartboard as a gift for his seventeenth birthday.

Knowing when to retire is among the trickiest issues for these in skilled sport. Most say they know when the time comes, however usually it’s a case of leaving it too late or making an attempt to exit on a excessive.

In the case of ‘Barney’, it was all approach too early.

‘I’ll by no means forgive myself. I’ll hate myself each single day,’ he stated in December 2019 after a first-round exit in opposition to American Darin Young on the World Championships marked the top of an illustrious profession.

Within a 12 months, he had reversed his retirement and on Friday, the Dutchman will function in his thirty first World Championship when he takes on Radek Szaganski of Poland within the second spherical. Only Steve Beaton has featured in additional World Championships.

‘I had my causes for retiring,’ Van Barneveld, 56, tells Mail Sport. ‘There have been troubles in my head and I wasn’t successful any extra. And if you understand you are good however it simply is not figuring out, it turns into more durable and more durable.

‘I wasn’t a pleasant man to be round any extra. I used to be depressed and thought it could be a good suggestion to only hand over.

‘I assumed I may do exhibitions and it could be higher to dwell with out the stress of successful and shedding. But I could not do something due to Covid. There have been no exhibitions. I wasn’t incomes any cash.’

Van Barneveld break up from his spouse Sylvia in 2019, not lengthy after she was the sufferer of an armed housebreaking of their household dwelling in The Hague. Van Barneveld was in Barnsley, enjoying an exhibition match on the time.

The resolution to return to motion was easy. Were it not for the pandemic, he would most certainly be doing media duties at Alexandra Palace for the Paddy Power World Darts Championship this winter.

‘I used to be extra busy with what individuals would take into consideration me coming again, however none of them may look into my checking account and see that I used to be divorcing,’ says Van Barneveld. ‘I’m joyful I realised that it was too quickly to retire.’

Yet he insists that whatever the monetary implications, he couldn’t dwell with out darts. Put merely, he could not dwell with out the hype. 

After all, that is the person whose affect on darts within the Netherlands is akin to what his compatriot Max Verstappen has accomplished lately with Formula One.

Van Barneveld’s 1998 World Championship win, watched by virtually 1 / 4 of the Dutch inhabitants, fuelled a darting frenzy that modified the sport for ever. He efficiently defended his title a 12 months later.

‘I used to be a postman in 1997, then I turned the world champion and every part modified,’ he says. ‘I’d do 20 to 30 occasions a month, had tulip roses named after me and even flew an F-16.’

Since his return, Van Barneveld has married once more, to an English girl 18 years his junior referred to as Julia, and has a honeymoon deliberate for January.

But for now, the main target is on going so far as he can on the Ally Pally.

He has ditched the earplugs on stage to understand the gang, however his preparation is as diligent as ever, with a mean of six to eight hours of each day coaching.

‘I all the time follow with the identical sneakers so it is as just like being on stage, however you may’t practice the nerves,’ Van Barneveld says. ‘It’s like taking penalties in coaching after which making an attempt to do it in a match when 1000’s are watching you. You can put together however you may’t replicate.’

That adrenaline buzz sees Van Barneveld quietly optimistic about his possibilities, regardless of the very fact he’s ranked twenty ninth and faces Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright if each attain the third spherical.

‘The followers — I get a lot vitality from them and it offers me a lot confidence,’ he says.

‘This is an important title. No one talks about different tournaments. They are nonetheless nice titles, however to be a world champion is a special stage. It’s not for a lot of gamers.

‘Only just a few have received a number of titles, so it is not for everybody. Look at James Wade — a top-quality participant, however he is by no means performed in a World Championship ultimate. They belong to the elite.’

Although it’s 16 years since Van Barneveld’s final success at Ally Pally, when he beat Phil Taylor in a legendary ultimate, he admits nothing will match the primary success in 1998. On the twenty fifth anniversary, he has even launched commemorative darts.

‘From working as a postman to ending the 12 months with my dream come true, that may all the time be my favorite reminiscence,’ he says. ‘Some individuals in Holland thought the thrill would not final lengthy however 25 years later, I’m nonetheless going robust.

‘The earnings on this sport are all going up and with the usual of latest gamers, the sport is barely rising.’

It will likely be music to the ears of darts followers that Van Barneveld has no plans of heading again into retirement any time quickly.

‘My subsequent step is to get again to the highest 16 on the planet. Trust me, I will likely be within the prime 16 on the planet subsequent 12 months. I consider I can win and you must consider — I’ve simply started working laborious and throw doubles. Trust me.’

Raymond van Barneveld was talking to Mail Sport, courtesy of Target Darts. Special Edition Barney25 darts to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of his first World Championship title are in the stores now at www.target-darts.co.uk