Darts legend drops main retirement trace after shock first-round defeat on the Ally Pally – and admits he’s ‘struggling’ after a ‘very poor yr’
Raymond van Barneveld has dropped a major hint over his retirement after being dumped out of the World Darts Championship in the first round.
The five-time world champion, who won his first title on debut back in 2007, was thrashed in straight sets by Switzerland’s Stefan Bellmont on Wednesday night.
After a sixth successive World Championship of crashing out before the quarter finals, the 58-year-old veteran has cast doubt over his long-term future at the oche, admitting he is ‘suffering’ and clueless over what is next for him.
Reflecting on the match, Van Barneveld heaped praise on Bellmont, who made history by becoming the first Swiss darts player to win at the World Darts Championship.
‘I thought I had a nice draw. That’s what everybody was telling me before the game,’ the Dutchman told ViaPlay after his defeat at Alexandra Palace.
‘Everybody was wrong. He played a great match. He deserved to win this match.
Raymond van Barneveld has dropped a major retirement hint after crashing out on Wednesday
Switzerland’s Stefan Bellmont played brilliantly to stage an upset and dump the five-time world champion out of the World Darts Championship in straight sets at Alexandra Palace
‘I played well in the first leg, the second leg wasn’t bad as well. He started with a 140 followed with two 100s. I had three 100s and a 60.
‘From that moment he basically hit every double. I got a chance on tops with three darts in the second leg of the second set. I missed them and it was 2-0 for him instead of 1-1.
‘Also in the last set, I was nowhere near my best and he hit everything. He missed the bull for a 170 but whenever it was needed, he hit the double. My compliments, he just played well.
‘Whenever I was practising at my office I played really well. It’s so frustrating that in practice I hit a 140 and a 180 every time.
‘The only problem is with practising you play your own rhythm. That’s different from a match. I noticed he was really slow. I knew that but that made me go out of my own rhythm and missed the doubles.’
Van Barneveld continued by urging he needs to ‘regroup’ after a ‘very poor year’, admitting the losses are starting to take their toll.
‘I’m out. It has been a very poor year for me,’ he added. ‘I need to regroup myself. It’s very difficult to answer what’s next.
‘On the practice board I’m a five-time World Champion, maybe even ten-time.
Van Barneveld, 58, won his first world title on debut back in 2007 (pictured celebrating above)
‘But during the matches it just is not going my way. And why not? I don’t know. I can’t answer that, really. Of course, this hurts. It’s the second time in a row this happens to me. I wonder by myself how to go on.
‘I wonder what to do because suffering every week from all the defeats is not what I want. That’s obvious. He doesn’t even have a Tour Card and to only win two legs, that says it all. I have got homework to do and have to find out what to do next. But, this one hurts, that’s obvious.’
