Raymond van Barneveld
Encyclopedia
Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967 in The Hague
, Netherlands
), nickname Barney is a professional darts
player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one
ranked player. In total he has won 11 BDO Majors (4 World Championships, 2 World Masters, 3 World Darts Trophies and 2 International Darts league titles) as well as 4 PDC Premier Events (1 World Championship, 2 UK Opens, and 1 Las Vegas Desert Classic)
His victory in the 2007 PDC final
, added to his four previous BDO Championships
brought him level with Eric Bristow
as a five-time world champion, he is one of only three players in darts history to achieve this. He is the most successful Dutch darts player ever, and has a significant effect in putting the game of darts on the map in the Netherlands.
at the Lakeside Country Club
, but his first round match ended in a 0-3 defeat to Australian Keith Sullivan.
He started to make some progress on the British Darts Organisation
circuit, reaching the quarter-finals of the Belgian Open in September 1990 and the German Open in March 1991. His first semi-final came at the Swiss Open in June 1991.
He failed to qualify for the World Championship in 1992, but made it back to Lakeside in 1993, which would be the last time that a unified World Championship would be staged. Van Barneveld lost in a close match 2-3 to John Lowe
, who would go on to win the championship. Shortly after the 1993 World Final, the top players in the game at the time formed the World Darts Council (WDC, now the PDC
) and left the BDO.
Van Barneveld continued to make progress in the BDO Open events in 1994 after the split, reaching the quarter-finals at the Dutch Open and Berlin Open, the semi-final at the Belgium Open and his first final, at the Finnish Open where he lost to Andy Fordham
.
He continued his good run of form into the 1995 World Championship by putting out Les Wallace
, Dave Askew
, Colin Monk
and Martin Adams
to reach his first World Final. But it ended in defeat 3-6 to Welshman
Richie Burnett
.
After second round defeats in 1996 and 1997, the former postman took his first world title in 1998 by beating Burnett in a repeat of the 1995 final. This match however is often listed amongst the greatest of all-time having reached 5-5 in sets Van Barneveld finally took the title by winning the final set 4-2 in legs on double 8.
He successfully defended the trophy one year later by the same winning margin, this time against Ronnie Baxter
of England
. This made him only the second player in the tournament's history to have launched a successful defence of his title; the other being Eric Bristow. Martin Adams would later also achieve this feat.
His run of success ended in the first round in 2000, crashing out to Chris Mason
, who averaged 100 and ended Van Barneveld's hopes of a hat-trick
of titles.
Van Barneveld lost in the quarter-finals in 2001 (4-5 to Ted Hankey
) and 2002 (3-5 to Mervyn King) before returning to the final in 2003. He clinched his third world title by beating Ritchie Davies
of Wales
6-3.
His 2004 campaign ended in the semi-finals, when Andy Fordham
beat him 5-4 in another memorable match.
A fourth title followed in 2005. He never dropped a set in the first three rounds as he beat Gary Anderson
, Mike Veitch
and Vincent van der Voort
. A 5-3 semi-final win over Darryl Fitton
and 6-2 triumph over Martin Adams
of England
in the final brought him that fourth title.
Van Barneveld reached his sixth final in 2006, and was aiming to equal Bristow's record of five BDO world titles. On this occasion however, his hopes were ended by 21 year-old fellow countryman Jelle Klaasen
who prevailed 7-5.
He has also won the prestigious Winmau World Masters title twice: once in 2001 when he recorded a win in the final over Jarkko Komula
of Finland and again in 2005 when he beat Goran Klemme
in the final. Other major darts tournaments that he has won at least twice include The World Darts Trophy and The International Darts League.
Van Barneveld is naturally left handed, but he throws darts with his right hand.
to the PDC
on 15 February 2006. He cited his reasons as wanting a greater challenge, and regularly playing against players like Phil Taylor. He had an incredible first year in the PDC, having started from scratch in the rankings. Within twelve months he had reached World number two and became World Champion.
His PDC debut came in the 2006 Premier League
competition. He won his first match convincingly 8-1 against Baxter. On March 23, he hit his first televised nine dart finish
and faced Taylor later in the same night, fighting back for a 7-7 draw. The re-match came on Van Barneveld's 39th birthday, but this time Taylor won the deciding leg for an 8-6 victory. Van Barneveld suffered a surprise 11-3 semi-final defeat in the Premier League to fellow Dutchman Roland Scholten
.
Van Barneveld then started a very successful run with a 13-5 final victory over Colin Lloyd
in the final of the International Darts League for his 11th BDO Grand Slam tournament. He won his first major PDC title in June by beating Barrie Bates in the final of the UK Open at the Reebok Stadium
, Bolton
. Earlier in the day, he beat Taylor in the quarter-finals, accomplishing one of his dreams which he announced after switching to the PDC. Van Barneveld beat Taylor again just weeks later in the semi-finals of the 2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic
. He lost 6-3 to Canadian John Part
in the final the following day.
Soon after this Van Barneveld made alterations to his game, he changed darts and began using the "stacking" technique used by Taylor. The darts used were a gram lighter than his old ones and cost the equivalent of £1 from a local store in Holland.
After losing in the first round of the 2006 Bavaria World Trophy to fellow Dutchman Michael van Gerwen
, Van Barneveld acknowledged that he needed to work on his finishing throws. Although he played well in the Sky Bet World Grand Prix, he lost to Phil Taylor in the second round.
Taylor and Van Barneveld met again in the 2007 PDC World Championship final
, in a match which Taylor later described as the best final he had been involved in. From three sets down, Van Barneveld came back to beat Taylor 7-6 in the sudden death leg in one of the greatest darts matches of all time to match Bristow's record of five world titles. In February 2007, van Barneveld won the 2007 Masters of Darts
tournament by beating Peter Manley
7-0 in sets in the final with a 107 three dart average. His success has also continued away from the cameras.
In the 2007 Premier League Darts
, he never fared as well as he did in 2006, losing to Taylor twice, Dennis Priestley
and Lloyd in the group section. He did however manage to finish second but lost an exciting but error filled encounter 10-11 to Terry Jenkins
in the semi-final.
Van Barneveld made amends for his disappointing Premier League campaign however by inflicting one of Taylor's heaviest defeats (11-4) in the quarter-final of the 2007 UK Open and went on to successfully defend his title beating Lloyd 11-4 in the semi-final and van der Voort in the final 16-8. In doing this, Van Barneveld became the first person to successfully defend the UK Open crown. A month later, he continued his surge of major titles by beating Jenkins 13 legs to 6 in the final of the 2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic
. Van Barneveld's dream of winning the five major PDC tournament titles in 2007- the World Championship, UK Open, Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix ended when he was defeated by Adrian Lewis
16 legs to 14 in the quarter finals of the World Matchplay in Blackpool
.
His haul of titles in the PDC has continued to grow since his switch. In addition to his four major titles (the World Championship, two UK Open Championships and the Vegas Desert Classic) - he has added eleven non-televised PDC Pro Tour titles (five UK Open Regionals and six Players Championships).
2008 proved to be Van Barneveld's most barren year thus far in the PDC in terms of success, with him not winning a major tournament. His defence of the World Championship crown was seriously thwarted by a bout of flu. He managed to win his first two matches quite comfortably, although nearly had to retire during his 2nd round match due to breathing problems. He was defeated by Kevin Painter
in the 3rd round by 4 sets to 2. Following his disappointment, he reached the semi-finals of the 2008 Premier League Darts, but was defeated for the third consecutive year at this stage of the tournament, defeated by James Wade
. He was also knocked out of the early stages of the US Open, the Las Vegas Desert Classic by Alan Tabern
and in the semi-finals of the UK Open by Gary Mawson
, after having defeated rival Taylor by 10 legs to 9 a round earlier. He was also defeated in the quarter finals of the World Matchplay by Wayne Mardle
. However, he did regain some form in the World Grand Prix reaching the final of the tournament, before being defeated by Taylor by 6 sets to 2. He also suffered a quarter-final embarrassment at the hands of Lewis in the quarter-finals of the inaugural European Darts Championship in November losing by 9 legs to 2.
Van Barneveld threw another televised nine dart finish
in the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship
in his quarter-final match against fellow Dutchman Klaasen on 2 January 2009. Van Barneveld hit two maximum 180s before nailing treble 20, treble 19 and double 12 to complete his nine-darter in the second leg of the sixth set.
The feat earned Van Barneveld £20,000 – the bonus had not been won since Taylor's nine-darter at the UK Open against Jamie Harvey
– as he became the first player to throw a perfect leg in the PDC World Championship. Van Barneveld went on to win the match 5-1, with a three-dart 161 finish, and then won his semi-final against Wade. However, he suffered a heavy 7-1 defeat to Taylor in the final. As a result of his failure to defend the £100,000 he won at the 2007 World Championship (his runner-up position earned him £60,000) he dropped from 2nd to 3rd in the PDC Order of Merit
.
Van Barneveld threw his fourth nine dart finish
in the Blue Square UK Open West Midlands Regional on 29 March 2009 in the third round against Kirk Shepherd. Barney only earned £400 for this as Mervyn King snapped up the £4,000 bonus on 28 March 2009 at the Coventry Players Championship with a nine dart finish
.
In the 2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic, Barney returned to form, losing narrowly to Phil Taylor 13-11 in the final. After the game, Barney took the microphone from Sky Sports presenter Dave Clark, and gave a speech about Phil Taylor.
After his quarter final World Matchplay defeat to Terry Jenkins, Van Barneveld took another sabbatical from darts. He declined entries for the Championship of Darts and the South African Masters. There was speculation Van Barneveld was considering retiring from the sport, however he stated after his first round win in the 2009 World Grand Prix over Alan Tabern that he was suffering from diabetes and his absence was in order to get fit and healthy and going to the gym. He also attributed the diabetes towards his form in major tournaments.
On 28 December 2009, he hit another nine-darter in the second round of the PDC World Championship against Brendan Dolan
, becoming the first player to hit two nine-dart finishes in the PDC World Championship. He went on to reach the semi finals before losing 6-5 to Simon Whitlock
. He also lost the third-place play-off 10-8 in legs to Mark Webster
.
On 29 April 2010, Van Barneveld hit another nine-darter against Terry Jenkins
at the 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts in Aberdeen. This came during a poor Premier League campaign in which he only finished in sixth place. During the Premier League, Barney said that he was suffering from personal problems back home, and claimed that he and his family were being blackmailed. He failed to qualify for the 2010 UK Open, having only entered one of the eight qualifying events (only players who enter three or more events are eligible to qualify).
His next nine-darter came in the first round of the 2010 World Matchplay in Blackpool, against Denis Ovens
on 17 July 2010. He went on to reach his first ever World Matchplay final, where he lost 18-12 to Phil Taylor.
.
The 2011 Premier league of darts seen a slight return of form after he hit 4 100+ finishes and defeated Simon Whitlock
8-3 with a 100.15 average, he went on to win his next match against Adrian Lewis
8-6. He lost to Phil Taylor in their much anticipated match 8-3. In week 6 he defeated Mark Webster 8-4 with a high average of 100.98 and also hit a 161 checkout.He went on to defeat Gary Anderson 8-5 in week 7 with an average of 101.44
On the day of his first round match in the 2011 World Matchplay darts Barney received a shock when he lost his darts. He contacted his sponsors with a S.O.S which meant they had to contact the closest supplier to deliver a new set for him. He received the set with no problems used them to defeat Steve Brown 10-3 averaging 95.56.
' as a result of the Dutchman's extreme popularity since he joined the PDC in early 2006. Van Barneveld has a close relationship with his fans, shown regularly at the end of Premier League events when his fans will all chant "Barney, give us a wave" and he always responds with a wave and a smile. He has regularly praised the fans of the Premier League. While he does get a good reception at most venues, his loudest and most positive is usually on the Scottish legs of the Premier League where the two most popular English players - Phil Taylor and James Wade - aren't so popular.
The Barney army are particulary fond of Barneys head shaking and mental weakness, Barney himself admitted in 2010 that they should be re-named "the power army" out of respect to Barneys nemesis and worlds greatest ever player Phil Taylor
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
), nickname Barney is a professional darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one
PDC order of merit
The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation . Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded for performances in ranking tournaments.-Previous world...
ranked player. In total he has won 11 BDO Majors (4 World Championships, 2 World Masters, 3 World Darts Trophies and 2 International Darts league titles) as well as 4 PDC Premier Events (1 World Championship, 2 UK Opens, and 1 Las Vegas Desert Classic)
His victory in the 2007 PDC final
2007 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2007 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship was the 14th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The tournament began on Monday 18 December 2006 and the final was played on Monday 1 January 2007...
, added to his four previous BDO Championships
BDO World Darts Championship
The BDO World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the British Darts Organisation . It began in 1978, and was the only world championship tournament until 1994...
brought him level with Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
as a five-time world champion, he is one of only three players in darts history to achieve this. He is the most successful Dutch darts player ever, and has a significant effect in putting the game of darts on the map in the Netherlands.
BDO career
Van Barneveld's first World Championship appearance came in 1991 playing in the Embassy World ChampionshipBDO World Darts Championship
The BDO World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the British Darts Organisation . It began in 1978, and was the only world championship tournament until 1994...
at the Lakeside Country Club
Lakeside Leisure Complex
The Lakeside Leisure Complex is a hotel, entertainment and leisure complex in Frimley Green near Camberley in Surrey. It is most famous as being the venue of the BDO World Darts Championship.-History:...
, but his first round match ended in a 0-3 defeat to Australian Keith Sullivan.
He started to make some progress on the British Darts Organisation
British Darts Organisation
The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....
circuit, reaching the quarter-finals of the Belgian Open in September 1990 and the German Open in March 1991. His first semi-final came at the Swiss Open in June 1991.
He failed to qualify for the World Championship in 1992, but made it back to Lakeside in 1993, which would be the last time that a unified World Championship would be staged. Van Barneveld lost in a close match 2-3 to John Lowe
John Lowe
John Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -...
, who would go on to win the championship. Shortly after the 1993 World Final, the top players in the game at the time formed the World Darts Council (WDC, now the PDC
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
) and left the BDO.
Van Barneveld continued to make progress in the BDO Open events in 1994 after the split, reaching the quarter-finals at the Dutch Open and Berlin Open, the semi-final at the Belgium Open and his first final, at the Finnish Open where he lost to Andy Fordham
Andy Fordham
Andy "The Viking" Fordham is an English darts player. He won the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship, beating Mervyn King in the final...
.
He continued his good run of form into the 1995 World Championship by putting out Les Wallace
Les Wallace
Les Wallace is a Scottish, former World Champion darts player. He currently lives in Midanbury Broadway, Southampton, England. He adopted the nickname McDanger - coming out for his matches dressed in a traditional kilt...
, Dave Askew
Dave Askew
Dave Askew is an English darts player who competes in the Professional Darts Corporation. Askew is a twice semi-finalist in the PDC World Championship, both in 2001 and 2002 and on both occasions losing to eventual winner Phil Taylor.- Overview :Askew began competing in major tournaments in the...
, Colin Monk
Colin Monk
Colin Monk is an English darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events and formerly played in British Darts Organisation events. He is turning full time professional in January 2010....
and Martin Adams
Martin Adams
Martin Adams is an English international darts player. Nicknamed Wolfie or Mr BDO, he is BDO world ranked number one, three-time and reigning BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion...
to reach his first World Final. But it ended in defeat 3-6 to Welshman
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
Richie Burnett
Richie Burnett
Richie Burnett is a Welsh darts player who was the 1995 Embassy World Darts Champion and currently plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. His nickname is The Prince of Wales.-BDO career:...
.
After second round defeats in 1996 and 1997, the former postman took his first world title in 1998 by beating Burnett in a repeat of the 1995 final. This match however is often listed amongst the greatest of all-time having reached 5-5 in sets Van Barneveld finally took the title by winning the final set 4-2 in legs on double 8.
He successfully defended the trophy one year later by the same winning margin, this time against Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. This made him only the second player in the tournament's history to have launched a successful defence of his title; the other being Eric Bristow. Martin Adams would later also achieve this feat.
His run of success ended in the first round in 2000, crashing out to Chris Mason
Chris Mason (darts player)
Christopher John Mason is an English darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Mace the Ace for his matches.- BDO and first PDC spell :...
, who averaged 100 and ended Van Barneveld's hopes of a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
of titles.
Van Barneveld lost in the quarter-finals in 2001 (4-5 to Ted Hankey
Ted Hankey
Edward "Ted" Hankey is an English darts player who is a two-time BDO World Professional Darts Champion. His nickname is The Count and his walk on music is Be On Your Way by DJ Zany. Hankey built up a large following due to his obsession with and resemblance to Dracula...
) and 2002 (3-5 to Mervyn King) before returning to the final in 2003. He clinched his third world title by beating Ritchie Davies
Ritchie Davies
Ritchie Davies is a Welsh former professional darts player from Aberdare. Davies is most well known for his run at the 2003 BDO World Darts Championship, where he reached the final.-Darts career:...
of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
6-3.
His 2004 campaign ended in the semi-finals, when Andy Fordham
Andy Fordham
Andy "The Viking" Fordham is an English darts player. He won the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship, beating Mervyn King in the final...
beat him 5-4 in another memorable match.
A fourth title followed in 2005. He never dropped a set in the first three rounds as he beat Gary Anderson
Gary Anderson (darts player)
Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player from Eyemouth, Scottish Borders, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation, and a former BDO and WDF world number one. His nickname is The Flying Scotsman...
, Mike Veitch
Mike Veitch
Michael "Mike" Veitch is a Scottish darts player who competes in events staged by the British Darts Organisation.-Playing career:...
and Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort is a professional darts player.-Playing style:Vincent is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world...
. A 5-3 semi-final win over Darryl Fitton
Darryl Fitton
Darryl Fitton is an English professional darts player currently playing in BDO events. He is nicknamed The Dazzler and comes to the stage dancing to the Madness song "One Step Beyond" wearing sunglasses. It is one of the most popular walk-ons with the audience...
and 6-2 triumph over Martin Adams
Martin Adams
Martin Adams is an English international darts player. Nicknamed Wolfie or Mr BDO, he is BDO world ranked number one, three-time and reigning BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the final brought him that fourth title.
Van Barneveld reached his sixth final in 2006, and was aiming to equal Bristow's record of five BDO world titles. On this occasion however, his hopes were ended by 21 year-old fellow countryman Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship. His nickname is The Matador. He lives in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands...
who prevailed 7-5.
He has also won the prestigious Winmau World Masters title twice: once in 2001 when he recorded a win in the final over Jarkko Komula
Jarkko Komula
Jarkko Komula is a Finnish darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly played in British Darts Organisation events. He is nicknamed Smiley because ironically he rarely smiles.-BDO:...
of Finland and again in 2005 when he beat Goran Klemme
Göran Klemme
Göran Klemme is a Swedish darts player who plays in British Darts Organisation events.Klemme made his name in the 2005 Winmau World Masters. He defeated Bobby George, Gary Robson and John Walton on the way to the final, where he played reigning BDO world champion Raymond van Barneveld...
in the final. Other major darts tournaments that he has won at least twice include The World Darts Trophy and The International Darts League.
Van Barneveld is naturally left handed, but he throws darts with his right hand.
PDC career
After playing in the BDO for fifteen years, winning four World Championships, Van Barneveld announced his move from the BDOBritish Darts Organisation
The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....
to the PDC
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
on 15 February 2006. He cited his reasons as wanting a greater challenge, and regularly playing against players like Phil Taylor. He had an incredible first year in the PDC, having started from scratch in the rankings. Within twelve months he had reached World number two and became World Champion.
His PDC debut came in the 2006 Premier League
2006 Premier League Darts
The 2006 Holsten Premier League the second year of the Professional Darts Corporation's popular darts league. The 2006 league was launched with the top six players in the PDC world rankings and the addition of a wildcard player, Raymond van Barneveld who decided to switch from the British Darts...
competition. He won his first match convincingly 8-1 against Baxter. On March 23, he hit his first televised nine dart finish
Nine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
and faced Taylor later in the same night, fighting back for a 7-7 draw. The re-match came on Van Barneveld's 39th birthday, but this time Taylor won the deciding leg for an 8-6 victory. Van Barneveld suffered a surprise 11-3 semi-final defeat in the Premier League to fellow Dutchman Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten is a Dutch professional darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly for the British Darts Organisation. He is nicknamed Tripod or The Flying Dutchman and uses Hey Ya by Outkast as his walk-on. He is currently ranked 45th in the PDC...
.
Van Barneveld then started a very successful run with a 13-5 final victory over Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd , nicknamed Jaws, is an English professional darts player on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit. He is a former world number one ranked player and he has won two major television titles in the PDC - the 2004 World Grand Prix and 2005 World Matchplay...
in the final of the International Darts League for his 11th BDO Grand Slam tournament. He won his first major PDC title in June by beating Barrie Bates in the final of the UK Open at the Reebok Stadium
Reebok Stadium
The Reebok Stadium is the home stadium of English Premier League football club Bolton Wanderers, and is located on the Middlebrook Retail Park in Horwich, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. It is commonly known as 'The Reebok'...
, Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
. Earlier in the day, he beat Taylor in the quarter-finals, accomplishing one of his dreams which he announced after switching to the PDC. Van Barneveld beat Taylor again just weeks later in the semi-finals of the 2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic
2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic
-2006 Prize Money:*Champion £15,000*Runner-up £7,500*Semi Finalists £5,000*Quarter Finalists £3,500*Second Round Losers £2,000*First Round Losers £1,350-First Round:Wednesday 28 June 2006First to six legs-Second Round:Thursday 29 June 2006...
. He lost 6-3 to Canadian John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
in the final the following day.
Soon after this Van Barneveld made alterations to his game, he changed darts and began using the "stacking" technique used by Taylor. The darts used were a gram lighter than his old ones and cost the equivalent of £1 from a local store in Holland.
After losing in the first round of the 2006 Bavaria World Trophy to fellow Dutchman Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player, nicknamed Mighty Mike. He is the youngest player in history to win a major televised tournament in either the BDO or the PDC, winning the 2006 Winmau World Masters at the age of 17...
, Van Barneveld acknowledged that he needed to work on his finishing throws. Although he played well in the Sky Bet World Grand Prix, he lost to Phil Taylor in the second round.
Taylor and Van Barneveld met again in the 2007 PDC World Championship final
2007 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2007 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship was the 14th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The tournament began on Monday 18 December 2006 and the final was played on Monday 1 January 2007...
, in a match which Taylor later described as the best final he had been involved in. From three sets down, Van Barneveld came back to beat Taylor 7-6 in the sudden death leg in one of the greatest darts matches of all time to match Bristow's record of five world titles. In February 2007, van Barneveld won the 2007 Masters of Darts
Masters of Darts
The Masters of Darts has a unique place in darts history as it was the first televised tournament featuring the darts players of the two rival organisations, the British Darts Organisation and the Professional Darts Corporation since they separated in 1993...
tournament by beating Peter Manley
Peter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
7-0 in sets in the final with a 107 three dart average. His success has also continued away from the cameras.
In the 2007 Premier League Darts
Premier League Darts
The 888.com Premier League Darts is a darts tournament which launched on January 20, 2005 on Sky Sports, and is currently the world's largest indoor sports event. The league is now played weekly from February to May, having originally started as a fortnightly fixture...
, he never fared as well as he did in 2006, losing to Taylor twice, Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...
and Lloyd in the group section. He did however manage to finish second but lost an exciting but error filled encounter 10-11 to Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches...
in the semi-final.
Van Barneveld made amends for his disappointing Premier League campaign however by inflicting one of Taylor's heaviest defeats (11-4) in the quarter-final of the 2007 UK Open and went on to successfully defend his title beating Lloyd 11-4 in the semi-final and van der Voort in the final 16-8. In doing this, Van Barneveld became the first person to successfully defend the UK Open crown. A month later, he continued his surge of major titles by beating Jenkins 13 legs to 6 in the final of the 2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic
2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic
The 2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic was the sixth time that the Professional Darts Corporation stage the prestigious darts tournament...
. Van Barneveld's dream of winning the five major PDC tournament titles in 2007- the World Championship, UK Open, Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix ended when he was defeated by Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation who is the reigning PDC World Darts Champion...
16 legs to 14 in the quarter finals of the World Matchplay in Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
.
His haul of titles in the PDC has continued to grow since his switch. In addition to his four major titles (the World Championship, two UK Open Championships and the Vegas Desert Classic) - he has added eleven non-televised PDC Pro Tour titles (five UK Open Regionals and six Players Championships).
2008 proved to be Van Barneveld's most barren year thus far in the PDC in terms of success, with him not winning a major tournament. His defence of the World Championship crown was seriously thwarted by a bout of flu. He managed to win his first two matches quite comfortably, although nearly had to retire during his 2nd round match due to breathing problems. He was defeated by Kevin Painter
Kevin Painter
Kevin Painter is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, where he is known as "The Artist"...
in the 3rd round by 4 sets to 2. Following his disappointment, he reached the semi-finals of the 2008 Premier League Darts, but was defeated for the third consecutive year at this stage of the tournament, defeated by James Wade
James Wade
James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...
. He was also knocked out of the early stages of the US Open, the Las Vegas Desert Classic by Alan Tabern
Alan Tabern
Alan Tabern is an English darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, where he is also known as "The Saint" and "Tabby"...
and in the semi-finals of the UK Open by Gary Mawson
Gary Mawson
Gary Mawson is a Canadian-born American darts player, who currently resides in North Royalton, Ohio, United States. He moved from Niagara Falls to Ohio to further increase his chances of success on the growing American darts circuit. He uses the nickname The Mauler for his matches...
, after having defeated rival Taylor by 10 legs to 9 a round earlier. He was also defeated in the quarter finals of the World Matchplay by Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle is a darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, and former player in the BDO. He now lives in Romford...
. However, he did regain some form in the World Grand Prix reaching the final of the tournament, before being defeated by Taylor by 6 sets to 2. He also suffered a quarter-final embarrassment at the hands of Lewis in the quarter-finals of the inaugural European Darts Championship in November losing by 9 legs to 2.
Van Barneveld threw another televised nine dart finish
Nine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
in the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship
2009 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2009 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 16th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation....
in his quarter-final match against fellow Dutchman Klaasen on 2 January 2009. Van Barneveld hit two maximum 180s before nailing treble 20, treble 19 and double 12 to complete his nine-darter in the second leg of the sixth set.
The feat earned Van Barneveld £20,000 – the bonus had not been won since Taylor's nine-darter at the UK Open against Jamie Harvey
Jamie Harvey
Jamie Harvey is a Scottish darts player who plays in the British Darts Organization . He currently resides in Barrhead. Harvey uses the nickname Bravedart for his matches - a play on the lead character from the film Braveheart...
– as he became the first player to throw a perfect leg in the PDC World Championship. Van Barneveld went on to win the match 5-1, with a three-dart 161 finish, and then won his semi-final against Wade. However, he suffered a heavy 7-1 defeat to Taylor in the final. As a result of his failure to defend the £100,000 he won at the 2007 World Championship (his runner-up position earned him £60,000) he dropped from 2nd to 3rd in the PDC Order of Merit
PDC order of merit
The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation . Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded for performances in ranking tournaments.-Previous world...
.
Van Barneveld threw his fourth nine dart finish
Nine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
in the Blue Square UK Open West Midlands Regional on 29 March 2009 in the third round against Kirk Shepherd. Barney only earned £400 for this as Mervyn King snapped up the £4,000 bonus on 28 March 2009 at the Coventry Players Championship with a nine dart finish
Nine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
.
In the 2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic, Barney returned to form, losing narrowly to Phil Taylor 13-11 in the final. After the game, Barney took the microphone from Sky Sports presenter Dave Clark, and gave a speech about Phil Taylor.
After his quarter final World Matchplay defeat to Terry Jenkins, Van Barneveld took another sabbatical from darts. He declined entries for the Championship of Darts and the South African Masters. There was speculation Van Barneveld was considering retiring from the sport, however he stated after his first round win in the 2009 World Grand Prix over Alan Tabern that he was suffering from diabetes and his absence was in order to get fit and healthy and going to the gym. He also attributed the diabetes towards his form in major tournaments.
On 28 December 2009, he hit another nine-darter in the second round of the PDC World Championship against Brendan Dolan
Brendan Dolan
Brendan Dolan is a Irish darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events.After two early exits in the 2003 and 2004 UK Open, his first major run came in the 2004 World Grand Prix where he qualified through the All Ireland qualifiers, winning one of four places...
, becoming the first player to hit two nine-dart finishes in the PDC World Championship. He went on to reach the semi finals before losing 6-5 to Simon Whitlock
Simon Whitlock
Simon Whitlock is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, although he did have a spell playing in the rival organisation, the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname The Wizard for his matches...
. He also lost the third-place play-off 10-8 in legs to Mark Webster
Mark Webster (darts player)
Mark Webster is a left-handed Welsh darts player who lives in Denbigh. Known as Webby, he plays in Professional Darts Corporation events, having previously won the 2008 BDO World Championship. Mark became a full time professional in 2009, having previously been a fully qualified Gas registered...
.
On 29 April 2010, Van Barneveld hit another nine-darter against Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches...
at the 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts in Aberdeen. This came during a poor Premier League campaign in which he only finished in sixth place. During the Premier League, Barney said that he was suffering from personal problems back home, and claimed that he and his family were being blackmailed. He failed to qualify for the 2010 UK Open, having only entered one of the eight qualifying events (only players who enter three or more events are eligible to qualify).
His next nine-darter came in the first round of the 2010 World Matchplay in Blackpool, against Denis Ovens
Denis Ovens
Denis Ovens is an English darts player currently ranked number 29 in the PDC Order of Merit. He is nicknamed The Heat and is now based in Stevenage. Ovens is widely regarded as one of the most consistent players in the circuit, though he has as yet failed to convert his form from the circuit to...
on 17 July 2010. He went on to reach his first ever World Matchplay final, where he lost 18-12 to Phil Taylor.
2011
At the 2011 World championship he lost in the quarter finals to on form Gary AndersonGary Anderson (darts player)
Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player from Eyemouth, Scottish Borders, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation, and a former BDO and WDF world number one. His nickname is The Flying Scotsman...
.
The 2011 Premier league of darts seen a slight return of form after he hit 4 100+ finishes and defeated Simon Whitlock
Simon Whitlock
Simon Whitlock is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, although he did have a spell playing in the rival organisation, the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname The Wizard for his matches...
8-3 with a 100.15 average, he went on to win his next match against Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation who is the reigning PDC World Darts Champion...
8-6. He lost to Phil Taylor in their much anticipated match 8-3. In week 6 he defeated Mark Webster 8-4 with a high average of 100.98 and also hit a 161 checkout.He went on to defeat Gary Anderson 8-5 in week 7 with an average of 101.44
On the day of his first round match in the 2011 World Matchplay darts Barney received a shock when he lost his darts. He contacted his sponsors with a S.O.S which meant they had to contact the closest supplier to deliver a new set for him. He received the set with no problems used them to defeat Steve Brown 10-3 averaging 95.56.
UK open
The 2011 Uk Open saw Barneveld progress to the fifth round of the competition where he was defeated by an on form Wes Newton who was eventual runner up 9-1Barney Army
Van Barneveld now gets chants of 'Barney Army', which is a play on the supporters of the England cricket team's nickname 'Barmy ArmyBarmy Army
The Barmy Army is a semi-organised group of English cricket fans which arranges touring parties for some of its members to follow the English cricket team on overseas tours...
' as a result of the Dutchman's extreme popularity since he joined the PDC in early 2006. Van Barneveld has a close relationship with his fans, shown regularly at the end of Premier League events when his fans will all chant "Barney, give us a wave" and he always responds with a wave and a smile. He has regularly praised the fans of the Premier League. While he does get a good reception at most venues, his loudest and most positive is usually on the Scottish legs of the Premier League where the two most popular English players - Phil Taylor and James Wade - aren't so popular.
The Barney army are particulary fond of Barneys head shaking and mental weakness, Barney himself admitted in 2010 that they should be re-named "the power army" out of respect to Barneys nemesis and worlds greatest ever player Phil Taylor
BDO
- 1991: First Round (lost to Keith SullivanKeith SullivanKeith Sullivan is a retired Australian darts player.He played in three BDO World Darts Championships. In 1991, he defeated future world champion Raymond van Barneveld in the first round, but lost to Alan Warriner in round two. In 1992 he defeated Peter Evison 3-1 in the first round but was defeated...
0-3) - 1993: Second Round (lost to John LoweJohn LoweJohn Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -...
2-3) - 1995: Runner-Up (lost to Richie BurnettRichie BurnettRichie Burnett is a Welsh darts player who was the 1995 Embassy World Darts Champion and currently plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. His nickname is The Prince of Wales.-BDO career:...
3-6) - 1996: Second Round (lost to Matt ClarkMatt Clark (darts player)Matt Clark is an English darts player who competes for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly played for the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname Superman for his matches.-Darting history:...
1-3) - 1997: Second Round (lost to Les WallaceLes WallaceLes Wallace is a Scottish, former World Champion darts player. He currently lives in Midanbury Broadway, Southampton, England. He adopted the nickname McDanger - coming out for his matches dressed in a traditional kilt...
2-3) - 1998: Winner (beat Richie Burnett 6-5)
- 1999: Winner (beat Ronnie BaxterRonnie BaxterRonnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...
6-5) - 2000: First Round (lost to Chris MasonChris Mason (darts player)Christopher John Mason is an English darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Mace the Ace for his matches.- BDO and first PDC spell :...
1-3) - 2001: Quarter-Finals (lost to Ted HankeyTed HankeyEdward "Ted" Hankey is an English darts player who is a two-time BDO World Professional Darts Champion. His nickname is The Count and his walk on music is Be On Your Way by DJ Zany. Hankey built up a large following due to his obsession with and resemblance to Dracula...
4-5) - 2002: Quarter-Finals (lost to Mervyn King 3-5)
- 2003: Winner (beat Ritchie DaviesRitchie DaviesRitchie Davies is a Welsh former professional darts player from Aberdare. Davies is most well known for his run at the 2003 BDO World Darts Championship, where he reached the final.-Darts career:...
6-3) - 2004: Semi-Finals (lost to Andy FordhamAndy FordhamAndy "The Viking" Fordham is an English darts player. He won the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship, beating Mervyn King in the final...
4-5) - 2005: Winner (beat Martin AdamsMartin AdamsMartin Adams is an English international darts player. Nicknamed Wolfie or Mr BDO, he is BDO world ranked number one, three-time and reigning BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion...
6-2) - 2006: Runner-Up (lost to Jelle KlaasenJelle KlaasenJelle Klaasen is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship. His nickname is The Matador. He lives in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands...
5-7)
PDC
- 2007: Winner (beat Phil Taylor 7-6)
- 2008: Third Round (lost to Kevin PainterKevin PainterKevin Painter is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, where he is known as "The Artist"...
2-4) - 2009: Runner-Up (lost to Phil Taylor 1-7)
- 2010: Semi-Finals (lost to Simon WhitlockSimon WhitlockSimon Whitlock is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, although he did have a spell playing in the rival organisation, the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname The Wizard for his matches...
5-6); 4th Place; lost to Mark WebsterMark Webster (darts player)Mark Webster is a left-handed Welsh darts player who lives in Denbigh. Known as Webby, he plays in Professional Darts Corporation events, having previously won the 2008 BDO World Championship. Mark became a full time professional in 2009, having previously been a fully qualified Gas registered...
8-10 (legs) - 2011: Quarter-Finals (lost to Gary AndersonGary Anderson (darts player)Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player from Eyemouth, Scottish Borders, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation, and a former BDO and WDF world number one. His nickname is The Flying Scotsman...
1-5)
Winner (5)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1998 | BDO World Darts Championship |  Wales Richie BurnettRichie Burnett Richie Burnett is a Welsh darts player who was the 1995 Embassy World Darts Champion and currently plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. His nickname is The Prince of Wales.-BDO career:... |
6-5 |
| 1999 | BDO World Darts Championship |  England Ronnie BaxterRonnie Baxter Ronnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action... |
6-5 |
| 2003 | BDO World Darts Championship 2003 BDO World Darts Championship The 2003 Embassy World Professional Darts Championship was held between 4–12 January 2003 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. Notably, it was the last World Championship to be sponsored by Imperial Tobacco.... |
Wales Ritchie Davies Ritchie Davies Ritchie Davies is a Welsh former professional darts player from Aberdare. Davies is most well known for his run at the 2003 BDO World Darts Championship, where he reached the final.-Darts career:... |
6-3 |
| 2005 | BDO World Darts Championship 2005 BDO World Darts Championship -Women:Women's bracket:-External links:* *... |
England Martin Adams Martin Adams Martin Adams is an English international darts player. Nicknamed Wolfie or Mr BDO, he is BDO world ranked number one, three-time and reigning BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion... |
6-2 |
| 2007 | PDC World Darts Championship 2007 PDC World Darts Championship The 2007 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship was the 14th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The tournament began on Monday 18 December 2006 and the final was played on Monday 1 January 2007... |
England Phil Taylor |
7-6 |
Winner (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 2001 | Winmau World Masters Winmau World Masters The Winmau World Masters is one of the longest running and most prestigious professional darts tournaments, which began in 1974 - even before the current World Professional Championship... |
 Finland Jarkko KomulaJarkko Komula Jarkko Komula is a Finnish darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly played in British Darts Organisation events. He is nicknamed Smiley because ironically he rarely smiles.-BDO:... |
4-2 |
| 2005 | Winmau World Masters Winmau World Masters The Winmau World Masters is one of the longest running and most prestigious professional darts tournaments, which began in 1974 - even before the current World Professional Championship... |
 Sweden Göran KlemmeGöran Klemme Göran Klemme is a Swedish darts player who plays in British Darts Organisation events.Klemme made his name in the 2005 Winmau World Masters. He defeated Bobby George, Gary Robson and John Walton on the way to the final, where he played reigning BDO world champion Raymond van Barneveld... |
7-3 |
External links
- Profile and Stats on Darts Database
- Raymond van Barneveld "Barney" best tribute video 1998, 99, 2003 and 2005 World Championship wins on YouTube
- Profile on PDC News